The debt of Russia's five largest technology companies increased by 53% in 2025, exceeding 2 trillion rubles. The pace of debt accumulation is outpacing the growth of their assets, which is causing concern for the local financial regulator.
The debt of Russia's five largest technology companies increased by 53% in 2025, exceeding 2 trillion rubles. The pace of debt accumulation is outpacing the growth of their assets, which is causing concern for the local financial regulator.
This was reported by Economic Truth with reference to the Russian publication The Bell, which conducted a review of the financial stability of the Russian Central Bank.
According to the report, the assets of these five companies grew by 48% last year (to 4.6 trillion rubles), which is inferior to the growth rate of debts. The regulator does not name specific companies, but notes that these are businesses with assets of more than 200 billion rubles, which are developing on the basis of digital platforms and ecosystems. According to the publication, this list almost certainly includes the country's largest marketplaces, in particular Ozon and Wildberries.
According to sources in the e-commerce market, the total debt load of the non-public Wildberries&Russ group could reach 1.3 trillion rubles by the end of 2025. The reporting of its main legal entity indicates an increase in short-term loans almost eightfold over the year - from 104 billion to 802 billion rubles. For comparison, the short-term liabilities of the Ozon company at the end of last year amounted to 80 billion rubles.
The local central bank has singled out big tech companies for the first time in a report, noting that the rapid accumulation of debt comes amid signs of slowing growth in the e-commerce market.
The financial difficulties of the Russian technology sector are deepening under the influence of international sanctions, restrictions on access to Western technologies and the outflow of skilled personnel. In particular, the largest players are facing difficulties in purchasing server equipment and finding alternative markets for raising capital after the closure of access to Western exchanges.
