federation of aluminium consumers in europe
Rusal Plans To Change Domicile To Russia
Russia’s leading aluminium producer UC Rusal issued a statement on the 17th of August saying that its board had approved a change of domicile from UK’s Jersey to Russia.
While the relocation decision is still subject to approval by UC Rusal’s shareholders, the company cited new special tax regulations as the main advantage of changing its and asked the management to come up with a detailed action plan.
Russia has created two new administrative regions with arrangements similar to offshore zones. The new locations allow businesses to enjoy zero tax on profits received by way of dividends.
The board’s decision will be “in the best interests of the company and its shareholders as a whole”, Rusal said in the statement.
UC Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium producer outside China, has been hit with U.S. punitive measures since April. The sanctions caused havoc far beyond Russia, severely disrupting the aluminium supply chain. Global aluminium prices spiked affecting companies both in the U.S. and Europe. After an outcry from manufacturers and governments, the U.S. Treasury Department decided to extend the compliance deadline and suggested it could suspend the sanctions altogether.
