A separate decree adds 3 companies to the 4 already under temporary administration. Neither decree gives a reason for the intervention. Japan Tobacco shares remained untraded early on 9 November amid excess sell orders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expanded temporary administration of Japan Tobacco International’s businesses in Russia, adding three companies to the four covered by his original decree. The original decree placed the four stakes under Russian company Industrial Assets.
The parent company’s shares fell by the maximum allowed for a second consecutive session on 9 November. In response, the Tokyo Stock Exchange quadrupled the permitted daily decline to 4,000 yen for Tuesday, widening the amount shareholders could lose in a single session.
Early on Monday, the shares had not traded amid a backlog of sell orders; the last bid was 5,469 yen, not a completed trade. On Friday, the shares had fallen by their daily limit of 1,500 yen to close at 6,269 yen, down 19%.
Japan Tobacco said its business continued to operate in Russia and that it was assessing the potential effect on its financial results. Russia accounts for about 25% of the group’s adjusted operating profit and roughly 10% of its revenue. Japan Tobacco International, part of the group, has about 40% of Russia’s cigarette market and employs around 4,000 people there. Russia is one of JTI’s largest markets. JTI describes itself as Russia’s largest tobacco manufacturer by sales volume.
In March 2022, JTI suspended new investment and marketing in Russia while saying all employees would retain their jobs. In November 2023, it announced that it would continue operating in the country.
The original decree, dated 5 November, took effect when it was published. It covers factories in St Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, the Lipetsk region and the Leningrad region. External administration gives state-linked managers effective control of Russian assets without necessarily changing their nominal ownership.
Vietnam’s competition commission said on 5 November that the measures include a 32% combined-fee cap and about 3.9 billion dong (US$152,000) in reimbursements.
The original decree placed 100% of the stakes in each of JTI Donskoy Tabak, JTI Yelets, Kres Neva and Petro under temporary administration.
JTI Investments Sarl owns the three companies added by the later decree. Interfax said they acted as import, management and holding companies. Putin’s decrees gave no reason for the move; the Kremlin has previously linked similar takeovers to actions by countries it considers hostile.
In September, Russia placed the assets of Nestle, Metro AG and Auchan under temporary management. In October, Moscow took control of four more European companies' Russian assets, citing European countries' support for Ukraine and what it called illegal expropriations of Russian property. That month, Russia’s Foreign Ministry called a Japanese company’s drone sale to Ukraine a hostile step and warned of a harsh response. Russia also said it had detained a Japanese journalist in Sakhalin on suspicion of espionage.
At least two companies share the name Industrial Assets, and the decree does not include a taxpayer identification number to distinguish the appointed administrator, The Bell said. After the first decree, Japan Tobacco International said it was assessing its options and prioritizing its stakeholders, especially employees.
In 2020, RBC identified businessman Taimuraz Bolloev as the ultimate beneficiary of the Industrial Assets company in Vsevolozhsk. The other company, based in Moscow and formerly called S8 Industrial Assets, previously belonged to Armen Sarkisyan’s S8 Capital. Its merger into tire manufacturer Cordiant began in summer 2026. It remains unclear which company was appointed administrator.
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