Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was appointed as one of Rosneft’s board members, as the Russian oil giant is trying to develop its operations in Germany.
Meanwhile, several other Russian companies are also investing in this country despite the ban imposed by the global organizations, writes Deutsche Welle.
After working for the Russian company Gazprom for many years, Schroeder is currently occupying a top position at Rosneft.
The shareholders of the largest Russian oil company have appointed Schroeder as the new chairman, while the company is controlled by the Russian state.
Commenting on this announcement, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said Schroeder contributed to the development of projects involving Russia and Germany, now having the mission to promote Rosneft in the entire Europe.
In January this year, Rosneft took control of a refinery in the German city of Schwedt and obtained minority stake in two other refineries from southern Germany.
The company also opened a representative office in Berlin in May, announcing an investment of 600 million euros.
Rosneft and Gazprom energy giants account for more than half of Russian total investment in Germany, said Ullrich Umann, a Russian business expert from Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI).
In addition to the two companies, approximately 1.770 Russian-owned firms are also based in Germany.
When it comes to statistical data, the German central bank published earlier this year an information related to the foreign direct investment.
“As soon as a Russian company owns 10% of the shares, the Russians obtain a voting right in a German company and that company must report to the central bank”, explains Andreas Bilfinger of GTAI.
According to recent data, Russian investments in Germany have advanced from less than 2.6 billion euros in 2011 to 3.46 billion in 2015.