The board of directors of the TCS Group holding, based in Cyprus and owner of Tinkoff Bank, invited shareholders to consider moving the company to a Special Administrative Region (SAR) in Russia. Interfax writes about this
If the decision is approved, the group will cease its activities in Cyprus and will continue to operate in Russia as an international company of a public joint stock company in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation.
The bank's press service stated that it does not comment on the decisions of the Cypriot holding. However, they indicated that they had already informed investors that the Group was considering various options for friendly jurisdictions in order to maintain effective corporate governance and protect investor rights.
Experts note that this decision corresponds to the current trend of Russian companies returning to their homeland. The news can be regarded as moderately positive for Russian and foreign investors. Due to restrictions on capital movements, companies often refuse dividends due to the inability to transfer funds to non-residents. Redomiciliation hedges risks. At the same time, fluctuations in the shares are unlikely.
Vladimir Potanin’s Interros, who became a TCS shareholder in 2022, noted that they welcome such a proposal and hope that it will be implemented. The practice of redomiciliation of foreign structures of Russian companies to the SAR has already shown effectiveness. Together with Tinkoff, Potanin will also transfer his Bystrinsky GOK to Russia.
The redomiciliation process for Russian companies is currently being carried out according to a simplified scenario, requiring only shareholder approval for moving to the SAR. All other obligations, such as investments, jobs and taxes in the SAR, can be fulfilled later, within a couple of years.
It is worth noting that many large companies have already transferred their assets to Russia and are operating successfully. For example, VK, which announced plans at the beginning of the year and completed redomiciliation in the fall, grew in shares by more than 40% over the year. Lenta and SoftLine also returned, HeadHunter, Fix Price and others announced plans for redomiciliation.