Solvay to suspend dividend from Russia’s Rusvinyl JV but remains shareholder

MADRID (ICIS)–Solvay is to suspend dividend payments from its Russian joint venture with SIBUR for the production of chlorvinyls, the Belgium-headquartered chemicals major said on Monday.

Solvay owns a 50% stake in the Rusvinyl joint venture located in Kstovo, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, around 450km west of Moscow.

Solvay did not clarify, however, whether it plans to exit the joint venture entirely, and in doing so follow other western companies who announced such a measure last week, like the UK’s energy major BP or its Dutch peer Shell.

Solvay had not responded to a request for comment at the time of writing.

The company also said it is to suspend new investments in Russia.

Earlier on Monday, Swiss chemicals producer Clariant also said it was suspending its operations in Russia, which amount to 2% of its sales.

LARGE CAPACITIES
Rusvinyl has the capacity to produce nearly 1.7m tonnes/year of chlorvinyls like chlorine, ethylene dichloride (EDC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).

Rusvinyl production	Capacity (tonnes/year)
Caustic soda	225,000
Chlorine	201,000
EDC	560,000
PVC	330,000
VCM	350,000
Source: ICIS data

SIBUR’s shareholder Kirill Nikolaevich Shamalov, an oligarch with ties to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, has been placed in the EU and the UK’s lists of sanctions against Russian individuals after the invasion of neighbour Ukraine on 24 February.

“In light of these events, Solvay has decided to suspend its operations and new investments in Russia. Further, Solvay will suspend dividend payments from Rusvinyl, an independent 50:50 joint venture in Russia,” said the company.

Solvay said it has donated €1m to the Belgian and International Red Cross in support of relief efforts for the civilians impacted in Ukraine.

The UN said on Monday more than 1.5m Ukrainians have already fled the country fleeing from intense shelling as the Russian army steps up its attack on the country.