Russian Firms in Far East Registering in China to Escape High Taxes and Get Cheaper Loans

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Sept. 4 – Firms in the Russian Far East are now registering their head offices in China in order to escape higher Russian taxes and to gain access to loans from Chinese banks that are now being offered at far lower rates, business leaders in the region tell Vedomosti.

            The exact number of such firms and their total size is not publicly known; but this shift is ongoing and almost certainly gives Beijing yet more leverage over the Russian Far East (vedomosti.ru/economics/articles/2026/09/04/1226136-malii-biznes-rasskazal-o-peremanivanii-dalnevostochnih-kompanii-v-kitai).

            It isn’t always easy for firms to take or maintain this status given the complexities of Russian business law, but Moscow seems unwilling or even unable to block such moves entirely. And as more take place, there is likely to be a backlash given that firms that do more to China will cost the Russian government tax revenue and Russian banks earnings.