(Bloomberg) -- Veon Ltd., the wireless operator that owns Ukraine’s largest mobile company Kyivstar, said it’s planning to move its headquarters from Amsterdam to Dubai.
“Our decision to relocate Veon’s headquarters to Dubai reflects the strategic realignment of our focus with closer proximity to our key markets,” said Chief Executive Officer Kaan Terzioglu in an emailed statement. Veon operates across six markets including Ukraine, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The move follows an announcement in August that it plans to delist from Euronext Amsterdam, citing low liquidity for the stock in Europe and regulatory costs. The company, which is also listed on Nasdaq, expects the delisting process to take place in the fourth quarter.
The departure of Veon comes after multiple Dutch companies, which rely on foreign talent, have recently expressed concerns about the souring business climate as a new coalition led by far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders’ party seeks to implement the country’s strictest ever anti-migration policies. Dredging and salvage company Boskalis NV’s Chief Executive Officer Peter Berdowski recently told local media that the company is evaluating whether to relocate its headquarters out of the Netherlands.
In March, Boskalis said it’s moving part of its headquarters to the United Arab Emirates, where it is expanding, and said a decision whether to stay in or permanently leave the Netherlands will be made sometime this year.
Earlier this year, Terzioglu expressed concern about existing regulations that complicate day-to-day business in the Netherlands, especially the country’s restrictive visa regime. Under the current rules, Terzioglu noted that he’s rarely able to fly Pakistan and Bangladesh-based employees without EU passports over for meetings. “It takes six months to get an appointment for a visa,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg.
Veon was founded in Moscow in 1992 as VimpelCom, one of Russia’s first cellular-phone providers, but exited Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. LetterOne Investment Holdings, which was set up by tycoon Mikhail Fridman, owns about 48% stake in Veon. Fridman stepped down from the boards of the two companies after sanctions were imposed.
Last year, Veon appointed former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as an independent non-executive director at Kyivstar’s board.
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