Samsung Electronics has suspended shipments to Russia due to “geopolitical events”, the South Korean tech giant announced after numerous companies, including Apple, took similar action following the invasion of Russia. ‘Ukraine.
“Due to current geopolitical events, shipments to Russia have been suspended”Samsung said in a statement. “We continue to monitor this complex situation closely to consider next steps.”
The announcement comes as Western governments, sports organizations and multinational corporations cut ties with Moscow and imposed harsh sanctions on Russia in the days following its internationally condemned invasion of Ukraine.
The strategic sale of electronic chips
According to Bloomberg, Samsung controls just over 30% of the smartphone market in Russia, which represents 4% of the tech giant’s global revenue in this sector. Semiconductor sales in Russia, meanwhile, account for less than 0.1% of Samsung Electronics’ profits, according to a report by Hana Financial Investment.
South Korea, an ally of the United States, announced this week that financial transactions with major Russian banks and their subsidiaries subject to US sanctions will be blocked.
Samsung also donated $6 million, including $1 million in consumer electronics as well as voluntary donations from its employees, to “actively support humanitarian efforts” and refugees in the region, it said. the company.
More iPhone sales for Apple
“Please (…) stop providing Apple services and products to the Russian Federation, including blocking access to the Apple Store!”asked in a letter posted on Twitter last Friday, the Ukrainian Minister of Digital, Mykhailo Fedorov.
The manufacturer of iPhone phones, Mac computers and iPad tablets explains in a message sent to AFP that it stopped exports to Russia last week. A few days earlier, he had cut off access to his Apple Pay payment system, creating queues in the Moscow metro. It also removed Russian state media apps RT and Sputnik from its AppStore.
“I am sure that such a measure will encourage the young and active population of Russia to stop” military aggression, added Mykhailo Fedorov.
Apple has also disabled the live incident reporting feature on Apple Maps in Ukraine.as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens”. This decision, which will logically lead to a fall in its annual turnover in the country, did not shake the share price.
(with Afp and Bloomberg)
