MOSCOW – Russia's sanctions-hit aluminium giant Rusal said on Friday its board had discussed and approved a change of domicile from Britain's Jersey to Russia in order to take advantage of new special tax regulations.
Rusal, which was hit with US sanctions in April that seriously disrupted aluminium supplies, said the relocation was still subject to shareholder approval.
The announcement comes a day after En+ Group, which is also subject to US sanctions on the two companies' tycoon co-owner Oleg Deripaska, said it was considering re-domiciling to one of Russia's new offshore zones.
Russia has created two special administrative regions where companies enjoy benefits such as a zero tax on profits received by way of dividends - an arrangement similar to foreign offshore tax havens.
Rusal said its board had decided that a change of domicile might be "in the best interests of the company and its shareholders as a whole" and entrusted the management with developing a detailed action plan.
Shares in Hong Kong-listed Rusal, the world's largest aluminium producer outside China, are down 54% since the sanctions were imposed on April 6.