Jan 30 (Reuters) – The Biden administration has stopped approving licenses for U.S. companies to export most items to China’s Huawei, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Huawei has faced U.S. export restrictions around items for 5G and other technologies for several years, but officials in the U.S. Department of Commerce have granted licenses for some American firms to sell certain goods and technologies to the company. Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) in 2020 received permission to sell 4G smartphone chips to Huawei.
A Commerce Department spokesperson said officials “continually assess our policies and regulations” but do not comment on talks with specific companies. Huawei and Qualcomm declined to comment. Bloomberg and the Financial Times earlier reported the move.
One person familiar with the matter said U.S. officials are creating a new formal policy of denial for shipping items to Huawei that would include items below the 5G level, including 4G items, Wifi 6 and 7, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing and cloud items.
Another person said the move was expected to reflect the Biden administration’s tightening of policy on Huawei over the past year. Licenses for 4G chips that could not be used for 5g, which might have been approved earlier, were being denied, the person said. Toward the end of the Trump administration and early in the Biden administration, officials had still granted licenses for items specific to 4G applications.
American officials placed Huawei on a trade blacklist in 2019 restricting most U.S. suppliers from shipping goods and technology to the company unless they were granted licenses. Officials continued to tighten the controls to cut off Huawei’s ability to buy or design the semiconductor chips that power most of its products.
But U.S. officials granted licenses that allowed Huawei to receive some products. For example, suppliers to Huawei got licenses worth $61 billion to sell to the telecoms equipment giant from April through November 2021.
In December, Huawei said its overall revenue was about $91.53 billion, down only slightly from 2021 when U.S. sanctions caused its sales to fall by nearly a third.
Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru, Stephen Nellis in San Francisco, and Alexandra Alper and Karen Freifeld in Washington; Additional reporting by David Kirton in Shenzhen; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Stephen Coates
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SHANGHAI, Dec 30 (Reuters) – Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (HWT.UL) estimated on Friday its 2022 revenue remained flat, suggesting that its sales decline due to U.S. sanctions had come to a halt.
Despite sales increasing a mere 0.02%, rotating chairman Eric Xu struck an upbeat tone in the company’s annual New Year’s letter, where he revealed the figure.
“U.S. restrictions are now our new normal, and we’re back to business as usual,” Xu wrote in the letter that was addressed to staff and released to media.
Revenue for the year is expected to be 636.9 billion yuan ($$91.53 billion), according to Xu.
That represents a tiny increase from 2021, when revenue hit 636.8 billion yuan, and marked a 30% year-on-year sales tumble as the U.S. sanctions on the company took effect.
Xu’s letter did not mention Huawei’s profitability. The company typically discloses its full annual results in the following year’s first quarter.
Revenue for 2022 still remained well below the company’s record of $122 billion in 2019. At the time the company was at its peak as the top Android smartphone vendor globally.
In 2019, the U.S. Trump administration imposed a trade ban on Huawei, citing national security concerns, which barred the company from using Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Android for its new smartphones, among other critical U.S.-origin technologies.
The sanctions caused its handset device sales to plummet. It also lost access to critical components that barred it from designing its line of processors for smartphones under its HiSilicon chip division.
The company continues to generate revenue via its networking equipment division, which competes with Nokia (NOKIA.HE) and Ericsson (ERICb.ST). It also operates a cloud computing division.
The company began investing in the electric vehicle (EV) sector as well as green technologies around the time sanctions took effect.
“The macro environment may be rife with uncertainty, but what we can be certain about is that digitisation and decarbonisation are the way forward, and they’re where future opportunities lie,” said Xu in the letter.
Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman
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Nov 25 (Reuters) – The Biden administration has banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) and ZTE (000063.SZ) because they pose “an unacceptable risk” to U.S. national security.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Friday it had adopted the final rules, which also bar the sale or import of equipment made by China’s surveillance equipment maker Dahua Technology Co (002236.SZ), video surveillance firm Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd (002415.SZ) and telecoms firm Hytera Communications Corp Ltd (002583.SZ).
The move represents Washington’s latest crackdown on the Chinese tech giants amid fears that Beijing could use Chinese tech companies to spy on Americans.
“These new rules are an important part of our ongoing actions to protect the American people from national security threats involving telecommunications,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.
Huawei declined to comment. ZTE, Dahua, Hikvision and Hytera did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rosenworcel circulated the proposed measure, which effectively bars the firms from selling new equipment in the United States, to the other three commissioners for final approval last month.
The FCC said in June 2021 it was considering banning all equipment authorizations for all companies on the covered list.
That came after a March 2021 designation of five Chinese companies on the so-called “covered list” as posing a threat to national security under a 2019 law aimed at protecting U.S. communications networks: Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications Corp Hikvision and Dahua.
All four commissioners at the agency, including two Republicans and two Democrats, supported Friday’s move.
Reporting by Diane Bartz and Alexandra Alper in Washington and Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Alexandra Alper and Lisa Shumaker
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WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is set to ban approvals of new telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE (000063.SZ) in the United States on national security grounds, according to an agency document.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel last week circulated the proposed ban to the other three commissioners for final approval. The companies would not be able to sell new equipment in the United States without equipment authorizations.
“The FCC remains committed to protecting our national security by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within our borders, and we are continuing that work here,” Rosenworcel said in a statement Thursday.
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The FCC faces a mid-November congressional deadline to act.
In June 2021, the FCC voted to advance the plan to ban approvals for equipment in U.S. telecommunications networks from Chinese companies deemed national security threats, including Huawei and ZTE.
That came after a March 2021 designation of five Chinese companies on the so-called “covered list” as posing a threat to national security under a 2019 law aimed at protecting U.S. communications networks: Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications Corp (002583.SZ), Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co (002415.SZ) and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co (002236.SZ).
Senate Intelligence Committee chair Mark Warner said he was glad to see the FCC “finally take this step to protect our networks and national security.”
The FCC said in June 2021 it was considering banning all equipment authorizations for all companies on the covered list.
This year, the FCC added Russia’s AO Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp (0728.HK), China Mobile International USA (0941.HK), Pacific Networks Corp and China Unicom (Americas) to the covered list.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said in 2021 the FCC had approved more than 3,000 applications from Huawei since 2018.
In 2019, the United States placed Huawei, Hikvision and other firms on its economic blacklist.
Also in 2020, the FCC designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats to communications networks – a declaration that barred U.S. companies from tapping an $8.3 billion government fund to purchase equipment from the companies.
Earlier this year, the Chinese embassy in Washington said the FCC “abused state power and maliciously attacked Chinese telecom operators again without factual basis.”
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Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by John Stonestreet, Jonathan Oatis and Marguerita Choy
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Common charging port required for new phones from autumn 2024
Laptops will have to be compatible with single charger from 2026
BRUSSELS, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Apple (AAPL.O) will have to change the charger for its iPhones in the European Union from autumn 2024 to comply with new rules introducing a single charging port for most electronic devices.
The reform passed by an overwhelming majority in the European Parliament on Tuesday, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, potentially strengthens the EU’s role as a global standard-setter on telephone technology. The vote confirmed an earlier agreement among EU institutions. read more
The new rules will make USB-C connectors used by Android-based devices the standard across the 27-nation bloc, forcing Apple to change its charging port for iPhones and other devices.
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It will also apply to laptops from 2026, giving manufacturers longer to adapt, although many already use USB-C.
Apple is expected to be the most affected of the big providers of electronic devices to European customers, although analysts say the impact could be positive if it encourages shoppers to buy the U.S. company’s new gadgets instead of ones without USB-C.
Shares in European semiconductor manufacturers rose on Tuesday after the vote, including those of Apple suppliers STMicro and Infineon .
The deal also covers e-readers, ear buds and other technologies, meaning it may also have an impact on Samsung (005930.KS), Huawei [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL] and other device makers, analysts said.
Apple, Samsung and Huawei were not immediately available for comment.
Under the reform, mobile phones and other devices sold after autumn 2024 will have to be compatible with the single charger, said Alex Agius Saliba, the EU lawmaker who steered the reform through the EU assembly. Old chargers will not be outlawed, however, so that customers can continue to use older models.
The large size of the EU market means the new rules may lead to changes in other countries.
GRADUAL PHASE-OUT
Saliba told a news conference that outlawing old chargers would have had a disproportionate impact on consumers and the environment, but noted that the change is expected to lead to a gradual phase-out of older products.
In total 13 categories of electronic devices will have to adapt by autumn 2024.
The Parliament extended the original proposal from the EU’s executive Commission which covered only seven types of devices. Lawmakers also added laptops from 2026.
Apple has in the past warned that the proposal would hurt innovation and create a mountain of electronics waste.
The change had been discussed for years and was prompted by complaints from iPhone and Android users about having to switch to different chargers for their devices.
The European Commission has estimated that a single charger would save about 250 million euros ($247.3 million) for consumers.
Half the chargers sold with mobile phones in 2018 had a USB micro-B connector, while 29% had a USB-C connector and 21% a Lightning connector, which is used by Apple, a 2019 Commission study showed.
Apple is working on an iPhone with a USB-C charging port that could debut next year, Bloomberg reported in May.
The Commission has also been mandated by lawmakers to assess the possible regulation of wireless charging, but an EU official said no decision has been made yet, noting that the technology is not yet mature.
($1 = 1.0106 euros)
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Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Catherine Evans
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Outage renews criticism over telecom sector competition
TORONTO/OTTAWA, July 8 (Reuters) – A major network outage at one of Canada’s biggest telecom operators shut banking, transport and government access for millions all day on Friday, drawing outrage from customers and adding to criticism over Rogers Telecommunications’ (RCIb.TO) industry dominance.
Nearly every facet of life has been disrupted, with the outage affecting internet access, cell phone connections and landline phone connections. Some callers could not reach emergency services via 911 calls, police across Canada said.
Canadians who work from home crowded into cafes and public libraries that still had internet access and hovered outside hotels to catch a signal. Canada’s border services agency said the outage affected its mobile app for incoming travelers. Retailers’ cashless pay systems went down; banks reported issues with ATM services.
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Rogers said it would provide credits to affected customers. Its shares closed down 73 cents at $61.54 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Later on Friday, Kye Prigg, a senior vice president at Rogers, told the CBC the company did not “have an ETA of when the problem will be fixed” and was still working to identify a cause.
“I wouldn’t like to say whether it’s going to be fully online today or not,” he said.
A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Friday evening that the outage was not the result of a cyber attack.
The disruption also made transport and flight bookings more difficult at the height of the summer travel season.
So far, Transport Canada has not received reports of direct safety or security impacts to any flights, marine or rail services as part of this outage, according to spokesperson Sau Sau Liu.
The interruption was Rogers’ second in 15 months. It began around 4:30 a.m. ET (0830 GMT) and knocked out a quarter of Canada’s observable internet connectivity, said the NetBlocks monitoring group.
“Today we have let you down. We are working to make this right as quickly as we can,” Rogers said in a statement.
With about 10 million wireless subscribers and 2.25 million retail internet subscribers, Rogers is the top provider in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and home to its biggest city, Toronto. Rogers, BCE Inc (BCE.TO) and Telus Corp (T.TO) control 90% of the market share in Canada.
Canadian Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne in a tweet called the situation “unacceptable” and said he was in communication with telecom CEOs, including those from Rogers, Bell and Telus, to find a solution.
Canadian financial institutions and banks, including Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and Bank Of Montreal (BMO.TO), said the outage disrupted services. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) said its ATMs and online banking services were affected.
General view of the Rogers Building, quarters of Rogers Communications in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio
A spokesperson for Vancouver International airport, among Canada’s busiest, said travelers could not pay for parking, use terminal ATMs or purchase items at airport retailers.
Air Canada (AC.TO), the country’s largest airline, said its call center had been affected. Airlines in Canada, like those in Europe and the United States, have been experiencing high call volume amid flight cancellations and delays due to pandemic staffing shortages. read more
Pop star the Weeknd on Friday evening announced that his tour stop at the Rogers Centre stadium had been postponed due to service outages affecting venue operations.
“I’m crushed & heartbroken. Been at the venue all day but it’s out of our hands because of the Rogers outage,” the singer wrote in a tweet.
COMPETITION
Critics said the outage demonstrated a need for more competition in telecom.
Earlier this year, Canada’s competition bureau blocked Rogers’ attempt to take over rival Shaw Communications (SJRb.TO) in a C$20 billion deal, saying it would hamper competition in a country where telecom rates are some of the world’s highest. The merger still awaits a final verdict. read more
“Today’s outage illustrates the need for more independent competition that will drive more network investment so outages are far less likely,” said Anthony Lacavera, managing director of Globealive, an investment firm that had bid for a wireless provider involved in the Rogers/Shaw deal.
On Friday, some government agencies canceled services after losing internet access, including Canada’s passport offices and the telecoms regulator. The Canada Revenue Agency, the country’s tax collection body, lost telephone service.
‘CASH WILL BE KING’
Shops and restaurants in Toronto put “Cash Only” signs on their doors. Residents crowded into and around a nearby Starbucks coffee shop offering free Wi-Fi on an unaffected network.
“There’s tons of people here with their laptops just working away ferociously, the same as they would at home, because they’ve got no service at home,” said Starbucks customer Ken Rosenstein.
In downtown Ottawa, Canada’s capital, cafes including Tim Hortons were not accepting debit and credit cards and were turning away customers who did not have cash.
Michelle Wasylyshen, spokeswoman for the Retail Council of Canada, said outages would vary from one retailer to the next: “Cash will most certainly be king at many stores today.”
While the disruptions were widespread, several companies and transport points said their services were unaffected. The Port of Montreal reported no disruptions. The Calgary Airport Authority said it had “no major operational impacts.”
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Reporting by Yuvraj Malik, Eva Matthews, Shubham Kalia and Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Katharine Jackson in Washington; Divya Rajagopal and Chris Helgren in Toronto; Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Writing by Rami Ayyub and Aurora Ellis; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio and Leslie Adler
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Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words “Cyber Attack”, binary codes and the Ukrainian flag, in this illustration taken February 15, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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US: Russian hack aimed at disrupting Ukrainian communications
UK: Hack was ‘deliberate and malicious’
EU: Attack on Viasat caused ‘indiscriminate’ outages
Russia routinely denies it carries out cyberattacks
NEWPORT, Wales, May 10 (Reuters) – Russia was behind a massive cyberattack against a satellite internet network which took tens of thousands of modems offline at the onset of Russia-Ukraine war, the United States, Britain, Canada and the European Union said on Tuesday.
The digital assault against Viasat’s (VSAT.O) KA-SAT network in late February took place just as Russian armour pushed into Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State AntonyBlinken said the cyberattack was intended “to disrupt Ukrainian command and control during the invasion, and those actions had spillover impacts into other European countries.”
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called the satellite internet hack “deliberate and malicious” and the Council of the EU said it caused “indiscriminate communication outages” in Ukraine and several EU member states.
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The Viasat outage remains the most publicly visible cyberattack carried out since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in part because the hack had immediate knock-on consequences for satellite internet users across Europe and because the crippled modems often had to be replaced manually.
“After those modems were knocked offline it wasn’t like you unplug them and plug them back in and reboot and they come back,” the U.S. National Security Agency’s Director of Cybersecurity Rob Joyce told Reuters on the sidelines of a cybersecurity conference on Tuesday.
“They were down and down hard; they had to go back to the factory to be swapped out.”
The precise consequences of the hack on the Ukrainian battlefield have not been made public, but government contracts reviewed by Reuters show that KA-SAT has provided internet connectivity to Ukrainian military and police units. read more
The satellite modem sabotage caused a “huge loss in communications in the very beginning of war,” Ukrainian cybersecurity official Victor Zhora said in March. read more
The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Moscow routinely denies it carries out offensive cyber operations.
Viasat did not immediately return a message. A Viasat official told Reuters in late March that the hackers involved in the initial sabotage effort were still trying to interfere with the company’s operations, although to limited effect. L2N2VW2XC
The satellite modem-wrecking cyberattack remains the most visible hack of the war, but many others have taken place since and not all of them have been made public. read more
“That was the biggest single event,” said Joyce. “It certainly had new and novel tradecraft, but there have been multiple attacks.”
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Reporting by James Pearson. Writing by Raphael Satter; Additional reporting by William James in London; Editing by William Maclean, Angus MacSwan and Bernadette Baum
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WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday added Russia’s AO Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp (0728.HK) and China Mobile International USA (0941.HK) to its list of communications equipment and service providers deemed threats to U.S. national security.
The regulator last year designated five Chinese companies including Huawei Technologies Co (HWT.UL) and ZTE Corp (000063.SZ) as the first firms on the list, which was mandated under a 2019 law. Kaspersky is the first Russian company listed.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the new designations “will help secure our networks from threats posed by Chinese and Russian state-backed entities seeking to engage in espionage and otherwise harm America’s interests.”
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U.S. officials have long said that running Kaspersky software could open American networks to malign activity from Moscow and banned Kaspersky’s flagship antivirus product from federal networks in 2017. Moscow-based Kaspersky has consistently denied being a tool of the Russian government,
In naming Kaspersky, the FCC announcement did not cite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or recent warnings by President Joe Biden of potential cyberattacks by Russia in response to U.S. sanctions and support of Ukraine.
Kaspersky said in a statement that it was disappointed in the FCC decision, arguing it was “made on political grounds.” The move was “unsubstantiated and is a response to the geopolitical climate rather than a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky’s products and services,” the company said.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said Friday that the FCC “abused state power and maliciously attacked Chinese telecom operators again without factual basis. The U.S. should immediately stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies.
“China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” it added.
The Chinese companies did not immediately comment.
In October, the FCC revoked the U.S. authorization for China Telecom (Americas), saying it “is subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government.” [nL1N2RM1QE]
The FCC cited its prior decisions to deny or revoke the Chinese telecom companies’ ability to operate in United States in its decision to add them to the threat list.
The FCC also revoked the U.S. authorizations of China Unicom (0762.HK) and Pacific Networks and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet.
In 2019, the FCC rejected China Mobile’s bid to provide U.S. telecommunications services, citing national security risks.
Inclusion on the “covered list” means money from the FCC’s $8 billion annual Universal Service Fund may not be used to purchase or maintain products from the companies. The fund supports telecommunications for rural areas, low-income consumers, and facilities such as schools, libraries and hospitals.
The FCC last year also named Hytera Communications (002583.SZ), Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology (002415.SZ) and Dahua Technology (002236.SZ) as security threats.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency worked closely with U.S. national security agencies to update the list and will add additional companies if warranted.
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Reporting by David Shepardson and Raphael Satter
Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler
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A man walks past a logo of Alibaba Group at its office building in Beijing, China August 9, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
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March 22 (Reuters) – Alibaba Group Holding Ltd raised its share buyback programme to $25 billion on Tuesday, its second increase in less than a year to prop up stocks that have been battered by concerns over slowing growth.
The announcement marks an increase from its earlier plan to buy back $15 billion shares, and marks the biggest share repurchase ever since it went public in 2014
Its shares rose 4.5% in Hong Kong (9988.HK) after the announcement.
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Alibaba said it had already re-purchased about $9.2 billion of its U.S.-listed shares as of March 18 under its programme, which was initially slated to last until the end of this year.
The company’s shares slumped in December 2020 after the earlier buyback amount of $10 billion failed to ease concerns about a regulatory crackdown on co-founder Jack Ma’s e-commerce and financial empire. read more
Alibaba went on to raise its buyback to $15 billion last August. (https://bit.ly/36aOVsd)
The current programme will be effective for a two-year period through March 2024.
“The upsized share buyback underscores our confidence in Alibaba’s long-term, sustainable growth potential and value creation,” said Alibaba Group’s Deputy Chief Financial Officer Toby Xu.
“Alibaba’s stock price does not fairly reflect the company’s value given our robust financial health and expansion plans.”
Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares have lost nearly 57% of their value from the beginning of last year till March 21.
The company has been under pressure since late 2020 when Ma publicly criticised China’s regulatory system.
Authorities subsequently halted the planned IPO of Alibaba’s financial arm Ant Group, and later slapped the firm with a record $2.8 billion fine for anti-competitive behaviour.
The latest buyback plan comes amid a stock rally in the past few days after Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said that Beijing will roll out more measures to boost the economy as well as favourable policy steps for capital markets. read more
Alibaba also named Weijian Shan, the executive chairman of investment group PAG, as an independent director to its board, and said Borje Ekholm, the CEO of Ericsson (ERICb.ST), will retire from Alibaba’s board on March 31.
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Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru and Josh Horwitz in Shanghai; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Himani Sarkar
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March 2 (Reuters) – Boeing (BA.N) suspended maintenance and technical support for Russian airlines and U.S. energy firm Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) said it would exit Russia, joining a growing list of Western companies spurning Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. tech giant Apple (AAPL.O) said it had stopped sales of iPhones and other products in Russia, while Ford Motor (F.N) joined other automakers by suspending operations in the country.
Western nations have steadily ratcheted up sanctions on Russia since it invaded Ukraine last week, including shutting out some Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial network.
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The measures have hammered the rouble and forced the central bank to jack up interest rates, while Moscow has responded to the growing exodus of Western investors by temporarily restricting Russian asset sales by foreigners.
Russian firms, meanwhile, have felt increasingly squeezed. Sberbank (SBER.MM), Russia’s largest lender, said on Wednesday it was leaving the European market because its subsidiaries faced large cash outflows. It also said the safety of its employees and property was threatened. read more
Signalling there would be no let up from the West, U.S. President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address on Tuesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “has no idea what’s coming” as he joined European states and Canada in closing U.S. airspace to Russian planes. read more
With international shippers such as Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), Hapag Lloyd (HLAG.DE) and MSC suspending bookings to and from Russia, the country has become increasingly shut out of world commerce. Sanctions are also squeezing Russia’s aviation sector.
Boeing’s said on Tuesday it was suspending operations as other aviation companies face growing European and U.S. restrictions on dealings with Russia clients, affecting leasing planes, exporting new aircraft and providing parts.
CHORUS OF CONDEMNATION
Exxon said it would not invest in new developments in Russia and was taking steps to exit the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas venture, after similar moves to dump assets by Britain’s BP , Russia’s biggest foreign investor, and Shell Plc (SHEL.L).
However, French firm TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) stopped short of saying it would exit Russia, only saying it would not put in new cash. read more
Logo at an Apple store in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
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Apple, which halted sales in Russia, said it was making changes to its Maps app to protect civilians in Ukraine.
It also joined a growing chorus of Western companies openly condemning Russian actions.
“We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence,” Apple said.
“We deplore Russia’s military action that violates the territorial integrity of Ukraine and endangers its people,” Exxon said, while Ford said in its condemnation: “The situation has compelled us to reassess our operations in Russia.”
Motor cycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc suspended shipments of its bikes to Russia.
The increasing focus of investors in environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues has added pressure on companies to act swiftly in ending ties with Russia and Russian entities.
“The only course of action for many is simply divestment,” said TJ Kistner, vice president at Segal Marco Advisors, a large U.S. pension consultant.
Big Western technology companies said they were continuing efforts to stop Russia from taking advantage of their products.
Apple said it had blocked app downloads of some state-backed news services outside of Russia.
Google, owned by Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), said it had blocked mobile apps connected to Russian state-funded publisher RT from its news-related features, including the Google News search.
Google also barred RT and other Russian channels from receiving money for ads on websites, apps and YouTube videos, mirroring a move made by Facebook (FB.O).
Microsoft (MSFT.O) said it would remove RT’s mobile apps from its Windows App store and ban ads on Russian state-sponsored media.
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Reporting by Paresh Dave in Oakland, Ross Kerber in New York, Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Writing by Peter Henderson and Sayantani Ghosh; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Edmund Blair
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