Russia freezes trading in up to 14% of U.S.-listed shares on SPB Exchange (updated)

Ozon Holdings

30/05/2022 09:08

(Adds detail)
    May 30 (Reuters) - SPB Exchange, Russia's second-largest
bourse, said on Monday it will transfer up to 14% of U.S.-listed
shares that its clients possess to a non-trading account after
the central bank said it will restrict trading in some foreign
shares.
    Financial links between Russia and external markets have
been damaged by sweeping sanctions that the West imposed after
Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
    Citing the need to protect investors' rights and interests,
the central bank said it decided from May 30 to restrict trading
in foreign shares that have been blocked by international
clearing houses, except for shares of foreign companies that
carry out "production and economic activity mostly in Russia."
    SPB said the decision was caused by restrictions imposed by
Euroclear and will impact shares with primary listing in the
United States.
    "Freely traded foreign securities will be completely
separated from securities that cannot be traded until the change
in Euroclear's policy towards Russian depositories," SBP said in
a statement.
    This implies investors that used to trade U.S. stocks via
SPB Exchange, which specialises on foreign shares, will retain
their ownership rights but will lose access to some of their
holdings of U.S. stocks, including blue chips, such as Apple
 AAPL.O  or Tesla  TSL.O . 
    Tinkoff, one of Russia's leading brokerages, said it had
engaged lawyers to protects interest and rights of its clients.
    SPB saw a surge in trading volumes during the COVID-19
pandemic and, before Feb. 24, was hoping for a listing on the
Nasdaq Global Select Market in the first half of 2022 after its
domestic initial public offering.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2S95TV
    In money terms, the separation will affect less than 14% of
all shares in clients' portfolio and will have no impact on the
number of shares the bourse offers, which currently exceeds
1,650, SBP said.
    The central bank's decision will not affect shares of
companies with Russian roots, such as HeadHunter Group  HHR.O 
Yandex N.V.  YNDX.O , Ozon Holdings PLC  OZON.O  and Cian PLC
 CIAN.N .
    "The Bank of Russia, SPB Exchange and trading participants
are constantly working to develop a system solution, interacting
with international counterparties," SPB said.

 (Reporting by Reuters; editing by David Evans)