Yet another company is cutting ties with Russia as the one-year anniversary of Putin marching on Ukraine approaches.
Hines has begun divesting from Russia almost a year after it stopped making investments there, in March 2022, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Assets in Russia account for less than 3 percent of the Houston-based company’s almost $93 billion global portfolio, but Hines is the latest American company to further distance itself.
“These exits are being diligently and responsibly undertaken in coordination with investors and partners as we execute our fiduciary responsibilities,” a Hines spokeswoman told the outlet. “The process is complex and requires us to be fully compliant with multiple sanctions, government requirements and necessary regulatory approvals.”
Hines has had a presence in Russia since 1992, not long after the fall of the Soviet Union. It has about $2.3 billion worth of properties there, according to its website.
Hines owned 4.4 million square feet of commercial real estate in Russia last year and managed an additional 1.2 million square feet on a third-party basis. The portfolio includes the 856,500-square-foot Metropolis Mall in Moscow and an office complex with banking, restaurant and fitness tenants.
Hines follows the lead of more than 1,000 other companies that have been pulling out of Russia in light of its Feb. 24, 2022 invasion, which sparked the largest conventional war in Europe since World War II. Texas-based Exxon Mobil pulled out of the country in October; energy services company Baker Hughes sold its Russian operations in April; and Shell and BP announced plans to pull out as well.
— Victoria Pruitt