ASUS likely to 'evacuate' business in Russia following Ukraine's request, says Taiwan

Taiwanese multinational computer hardware and electronics firm ASUS is mulling to “evacuate” its staff and business in Russia, Taiwan’s economy minister said on Monday. The statement came after a Ukraine minister requested ASUS to end business in Moscow in response to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and minister of digital transformation, tweeted a letter on Thursday to ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih, asking the company to leave Moscow for invading Ukraine. “ASUS, Russians have no moral right to use your brilliant technology! It’s for peace, not for war!” Fedorov said in a separate tweet.

When asked about the letter, Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-Hua said Taiwan stands with other democracies in taking action against Russia, but could not comment on what individual companies were doing.

Wang said her “initial understanding” was that ASUSTeK Computer Inc would conduct “relevant business and personnel evacuation as soon as possible” following the outbreak of the war. “The company will give overall consideration to its reputation,” she told reporters.

Taiwanese call on ASUS to halt business operations in Russia

Several social media channels have called on ASUS to boycott Russian after the letter was tweeted last week. Meanwhile, Taiwan has joined the West in imposing sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine. Many Taiwanese see parallels between Ukraine's crisis and the military threat Taiwan faces from China.

Notably, Russia is not a big market for any major Taiwanese firm. While ASUS does not provide a breakdown of revenue by country, it reported last year that Europe accounted for only a third of its revenue. Besides, the company does have a fully owned Russian sales unit, unlike in other countries. In Ukraine, ASUS has a product support unit and its shares fell more than 2% early on Monday, while the broader market was flat.