MegaFon, one of Russia’s largest mobile carriers, has decided to place 40% of its cash into Hong Kong dollars in order to protect itself against any potential sanctions imposed by Western countries.
Gevork Vermishyan, the chief financial officer of Megafon, told RT that US dollar-based assets are currently a risk for the company. The Hong Kong dollar provides an easy alternative since it is pegged to the US dollar.
The rest of MegaFon’s cash—which currently has roughly USD $1.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents—will be kept in Russian rubbles.
MegaFon is owned by Alisher Usmanov, Russia’s richest man.
The network now charges domestic rates for calls between Crimea and Russia.
