LSE has suspended trading with 28 Russian companies
THE London Stock Exchange has suspended trading in 28 Russian companies including energy giants Rosneft and Gazprom and the country’s biggest lender Sberbank.
At its annual results, LSE chief executive David Schwimmer said that the level of sanctions against Moscow was “unprecedented”.
Mr Schwimmer said trading in eight other Russian companies would depend on official action and the bourse’s ability to maintain an orderly market.
He said: “We are actively engaging with regulators and authorities on all relevant sanctions and taking appropriate actions.”
Additionally, the LSE’s stock market index arm Russell is to kick Russian companies out of all its indices from Monday.
Russell’s figures are used by institutional investors, banks and other financial groups around the world for things like index tracking investment funds and setting performance benchmarks.
The LSE’s moves came as global ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Russia’s creditworthiness six notches to B3, which is regarded as “junk” or “highly speculative” in response to sanctions. Prior to the invasion of Ukraine, the credit rating for Russian government bonds, the IOUs they sell to investors and other countries, was Baa3, the lowest investment grade rating available.
Russia will find it even harder to borrow money and Moody’s said the country’s debt pile could face yet more downgrades.
The LSE has operations in both Russia and Ukraine, although they account for less than one per cent of its business. It said that its immediate focus is the safety of its people in Ukraine.
Thanks to surging markets last year, its pre-tax profits for the 12 months to December 31 surged from £492million to £987million.
Group revenues more than tripled to £6.7billion.
The LSE’s performance was also boosted by the acquisition and integration of Refinitiv, the financial data group.
The London bourse felt able to increase its full-year dividend by 27 per cent to 95p per share.
That will give shareholders a total payout that is worth £529.5million.