On March 8, the President of the Russian Federation signed Federal Law No. 51-FZ amending Federal Law No. 57-FZ of April 29, 2008, “On the Procedure for Foreign Investment in Business Entities of Strategic Importance for National Defense and State Security” (“Law No. 57-FZ”), as well as other legislative acts (“the Law”).
The law is comprehensive and introduces significant changes to certain provisions of Law No. 57-FZ; in particular, it expands:
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the list of strategic activities regarding the use of subsoil resources not classified as federal-level areas, as well as regarding the cultivation and processing of aquatic biological resources;
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the concept of the strategic company’s primary means of production using property owned by the state or municipalities;
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the list of actions requiring prior consent in accordance with Law No. 57-FZ;
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a list of situations requiring subsequent notification of the antimonopoly authority in accordance with Article 14 of Law No. 57-FZ.
The Law also establishes a list of actions that foreign investors must take if such investors hold more than 5% of the shares (including where foreign investors have established control) of a strategic company operating in accordance with paragraphs 40.1 and 40. 2 of Article 6 of Law No. 57-FZ (introduced by the Law).
The main provisions of the Law will take effect 90 days after the date of its official publication.
We will provide you with a more detailed overview of the adopted amendments.
