BASF discontinues business in Russia and Belarus

Chemical company BASF plans to cease its activities in Russia and Belarus by the beginning of July 2022 in response to Russia's attack on Ukraine. The company had already announced at the beginning of March that it would no longer conclude any new business in Russia. Now, existing business will also be affected by a ban with the exception of activities supporting food production. The war poses a risk of triggering a global food crisis, BASF said, explaining the move.

Affected by the decision are 684 BASF employees working in Russia and Belarus. According to BASF, they will continue to be supported until the end of the year. The impact on BASF's Group business is manageable: According to the company, the activities in Russia and Belarus contributed about 1 percent to total sales last year.

By contrast, Wintershall Dea, in which BASF still holds a majority stake, has been much more severely affected. The Ludwigshafen-based company is still sticking to its plans to float the upstream company on the stock market, despite opposition from Mikhail Fridman, whose financial vehicle LetterOne is a joint venture partner in Wintershall Dea. The IPO had been planned for this year.  

Wintershall Dea had announced in early March that it would no longer carry out any new oil and gas production projects in Russia, and all payments to Russia had been stopped. It also pulled out of financing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, writing off around 1 billion euros for it.