- Bourse blocks trading in Russian companies
- Light at the end of the tunnel for cost savings
The shadow of war in Ukraine loomed large over the London Stock Exchange’s (LSEG) results, after the bourse released a separate missive suspending listings in 27 companies with strong ties to Russia. With sanctions roiling through the global financial system, London-based trading in the shares of names from Sberbank to Gazprom and Lukoil is now impossible.
Curiously, though a major reverse of the longstanding policy of attracting as many Russian companies as possible to list in London, management initially made only the merest mention of Russia in its presentation of 2021 numbers. Even then, it was to clarify that less than 1 per cent of total income is linked to the country and that it was liaising with regulators.