Putin approves Rosbank's purchase of Societe Generale's Russian assets

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree clearing the way for the purchase by Rosbank of stakes in leading Russian companies owned by Societe General.

The decree said that Rosbank would be able to buy Societe General's stakes in leading energy producers such as Rosneft and Gazprom as well as in metals companies including Norilsk Nickel and Severstal and other leading Russian enterprises, according to Reuters.

Companies from so-called "unfriendly" countries - those which announced sanctions against Russia following the Kremlin's decision to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022 - need special dispensation from Moscow for transactions involving Russian assets.

Interfax news agency said each separate stake in a given Russian company is relatively small. For example, it's 0.04 per cent in Gazprom and 0.02 per cent in Alrosa (ALRS.MM), the world's biggest diamond-producing company.

However, the combined value of the assets under consideration are in "billions of roubles".

Societe Generale pulled out of Russia and closed the sale of its local unit Rosbank to the Interros group, a firm linked to Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin, in May 2022.