The Dutch holding Veon, which owns VimpelCom (Beeline brand) in Russia, has begun selling its Russian business. A statement about this is posted on the company's website.
According to Kommersant, the management of VimpelCom will be handed over to Russian top management. The company told the publication that the foreign origin of the shareholder has imposed many restrictions on the operator "in the current political situation."
The statement said that Veon's management is exploring options to achieve "an optimal outcome for all stakeholders," including Veon and its Russian operations, shareholders, creditors, customers and employees.
In June, Veon said that in the first quarter of 2022, its business in Russia depreciated by $449 million. The company was founded by Russian businessman Dmitry Zimin and registered in Bermuda, headquartered in Amsterdam. The holding owns telecommunications assets in Asia, Africa and the CIS. The largest shareholder of Veon is the company LetterOne, created by the founders of Alfa Group and owning a 47.9% stake in VimpelCom.
In June, The Insider reported that European sanctions affected the speed of Russian mobile Internet: the departure of vendors supplying equipment for Russian operators forced the latter to dismantle some of the equipment from settlements with a small number of subscribers. As the project manager for the construction of a telecommunications network, Igor Yashchuk, told the publication, now we need to wait for the entry of the Chinese company ZTE, as well as establish joint production with China. But how long it will take and whether China will agree is unknown.
