March 10 (Reuters) – Rio Tinto became the first major mining company to cut ties with Russian businesses and Japan’s Sony and Nintendo suspended deliveries of their gaming consoles, joining a global corporate exodus from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Credit Suisse flagged a roughly $900 million Russian credit exposure, including lending to wealthy clients, following disclosures from Italy’s UniCredit and France’s BNP Paribas .
Japanese construction machinery supplier Hitachi 6501.T said it would stop exports and cease most operations in Russia except for vital electrical power facilities, following similar exits by American industrial companies Caterpillar , 3M Co , Deere and Honeywell .
“We took multiple factors including the supply chain situation into account,” a spokesperson for Hitachi said, echoing a statement from Caterpillar.
Sony 6758.T, whose movie studio had already stopped releases in Russia, suspended the launch of racing game “Gran Turismo 7”. Rival Nintendo 7974.T said it delayed the global release of “Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp”, a turn-based strategy game with a military theme.
Food companies Nestle , Mondelez MDLZ.O, Procter & Gamble PG.N and Unilever ULVR.L halted investment in Russia, but said they would continue providing essentials.
Coke KO.N and McDonald’s MCD.N have halted sales in Russia, and hoteliers Hilton HLT.N and Hyatt H.N said they would suspend development.
Japan’s Shiseido 4911.T suspended exports of its cosmetics to Russia from Europe as well as advertising and promotions and Mitsubishi Electric 6503.T said it would stop exports to Russia, where operations were in a “difficult situation”.
German fashion house Hugo Boss BOSSn.DE, which generated 3% of its group sales in Russia and Ukraine last year, said it had temporarily halted its businesses in Russia.
While some companies such as Ford F.N and Apple AAPL.O have condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, others including Japanese automaker Toyota 7203.T have taken a more neutral stance, blaming a halt in production in Russia on logistical hurdles.
Sweeping Western sanctions have isolated Russia even as shippers have suspended routes, and European Union leaders plan to phase out buying Russian energy in a bid to be less dependent on Russia.
The war, which entered its third week on Thursday, has killed thousands of people and rendered more than two million refugees.
It has decimated the rouble, roiled stock markets and prices of oil and other commodities have skyrocketed, adding to global inflation that was surging even before the conflict began.
Alphabet Inc’s YouTube and Google Play store are suspending all payment-based services in Russia, including subscriptions, as sanctions start to pose banking challenges.
They had earlier stopped selling online ads in Russia.
PAY IN ROUBLES
Russia plans to order local airlines to pay for leased aircraft in roubles and bar them from returning planes to foreign companies if the latter cancel the lease, according to a draft law published on Thursday.
Moscow, which calls the war a “special military operation,” has warned it might nationalise idled foreign assets in retaliation against Western sanctions.
Rio Tinto RIO.L, RIO.AX, which owns an 80% stake in a joint venture with Russian aluminium producer Rusal RUAL.MM, said it was “in the process of terminating all commercial relationships it has with any Russian business.”
Earlier, a top executive from the Anglo-Australian firm said the company was looking for alternative fuel sources for its Mongolian copper operations at Oyu Tolgoi, but did not believe it could stop buying from Russia altogether.
It was not immediately clear if Rio would continue to buy Russian fuel through non-Russian third parties.
Rio rival BHP BHP.AX, which had said earlier this week that the war was having a “dramatic impact” on its business in terms of commodity prices, did not immediately comment on Thursday on whether it had any business links with Russian firms and would consider terminating them.
Italian energy group Eni ENI.MI suspended the purchase of oil from Russia and said it was watching developments closely with regards to gas procurement.
Eni, which had already frozen joint ventures with Russian oil group Rosneft ROSN.MM following sanctions imposed in 2014, also has long-term take-or-pay gas contracts with Gazprom GAZP.MM.
On Tuesday, the United States banned Russian oil imports.
Western sanctions have also targeted banks and billionaires.
Citigroup C.N said it is operating its Russian consumer business on a more limited basis while sticking with its plans to divest the franchise.
Banks, insurers and asset managers have been scrambling to distance themselves from Russia and assess their exposures but experts say they are likely to find it harder than others to extricate themselves because it is hard to walk away from lending commitments and other types of financial claims.
Photo – People wearing protective face masks sit on a bench in front of gift shop in Moscow, Russia. EPA-EFE/YURI KOCHETKOV
