Foreign companies go on leaving the Russian market. The world’s largest corporations either suspend or stop their production. Japanese company Toshiba announced on the official website of its Russian representative that it will leave the Russian consumer market. Foreign companies always find it difficult to carry on business in Russia. The economic slowdown has aggravated the situation and led most foreign companies to losses. Toshiba said that low purchasing power and very fast pace of the ruble depreciation were the main reasons to make such a decision. However, some experts suppose that the company’s weak position in the Russian market is the real reason for its leaving. Samsung and LG televisions occupy about 70% of the market whereas Toshiba has difficulties to compete with the Korean companies with only 10% of the Russian television market.
Meanwhile, Toshiba was one of the leaders in the medical equipment market, but the Russian government made some adjustments. Russia has chosen the import substitution course, sticking to which the regulatory authorities refuse to register foreign goods. The issue concerning large projects launched together with Toshiba in agricultural and energy sectors of Moscow region and Mordovia is still unresolved.
"Corporate management is reading negative news from Russia, so to convince them to invest is very difficult," Toshiba Rus Director Hiroaki Tezuka said.
