Hong Kong banks, following China and Turkey, stopped working with Russia. This is reported by The Moscow Times.
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Why did this hit business hard
This is a popular place for purchasing goods for parallel import, but by the end of February, Russian importers had practically lost the opportunity to directly transfer payments there, the publication writes.
It is convenient to deliver products through Hong Kong: you do not need to go through customs clearance again. It was a convenient point for purchasing goods that were not sold to Russia due to sanctions or simply the refusal of Western companies to do business with it, as well as for payments to those who did not accept money from Russia.
Therefore, hundreds of Russian businessmen have registered companies in Hong Kong both for intermediary services and for their own foreign trade operations. Now it is not possible to directly top up their accounts, nor to pay other companies in Hong Kong, entrepreneurs who spoke with The Moscow Times admit.
“Our whole life is a complete schematosis that is getting crazier and crazier,” sums up the owner of the Russian company. trading company, after the outbreak of war, which opened an affiliated company in Hong Kong in the spring of 2022.
But in 2022, Hong Kong banks easily accepted even rubles as payment. Now they do not accept payments even in yuan, from banks that are not sanctioned and for goods free from bans, Russian businessmen complain.
Background
Since the beginning of the year, Russian companies have been having problems with settlements in banks of “friendly” countries. Credit institutions in Turkey were the first to block payments, which is why the supply of Turkish goods to the Russian Federation was initially paralyzed, and by February, according to Reuters, payments for oil sold to Turkey “stood up.”
Next, accounts were closed to Russian companies The companies were the banks of the United Arab Emirates, where they found themselves under attack, including Rosneft, which was denied service in dirhams.
In addition, the three largest credit organizations in China – Industrial – refused to settle settlements with the sanctioned banks of the Russian Federation. and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank (CCB) and Bank of China. Payment terms with China have increased to 7-10 days, and in some cases delays reach 40 days, the Association of Exporters and Importers complained.