Yandex - Possible Restriction of Foreign Ownership in Internet

On Friday, Duma member Anton Gorekin suggested amendments to the legislation that could ultimately restrict foreign ownership in "informationally important" internet resources to 20%. According to The Bell, the amendments were devised by the Presidential Administration rather than the Duma. In an interview with Gazeta.ru, Gorekin said the law would not affect Mail.ru Group, as its shareholder structure is compliant (to recall, Russian shareholders after closing the deal with Alibaba will have 5.2% economic and 59.3% voting rights). This comment leads us to believe that the key target of this law could be foreign companies including Google and Yandex (Russian shareholders have 13.85% economic and 54.77% voting rights). The legislation was already criticized by government officials, including the communications minister. The amendments were filed on the last working day of the Duma, which will now return from holidays on September 10. This suggests that industry participants could get extended time for consultations and corporate actions.