Putin is facing a growing economic crisis (Image: Getty)
are facing mass closures as they struggle to cope with tax hikes and rising loan costs.
Businesses across the by the Central Bank’s decision late last year to raise to a record high of 21%.
The move came in a bid to bring spiralling inflation back under control, which currently hovers at around 9.5%.
One of the sectors hit hardest by the growing economic crisis is retail, with consumers reigning in their spending.
A Russian shopping mall (Image: Getty)
With experts predicting a further hike, the outlook for many shopping centres has started to look extremely bleak.
As many as 200 malls have reached a pre-bankruptcy state and could close in 2025, according to the Union of Shopping Centres.
Industry insiders blame the rapid increase in on commercial loans for the crisis.
“Now shopping malls have problems closing existing loan agreements and new loans are completely unavailable to them,” said Oleg Voitsekhovsky, Managing Director of the Russian Council of Shopping Centres (STC).
“This leads to problems with both profitability and the ability to maintain buildings in proper condition and carry out re-conceptualisation.”
Don’t miss… [NEWS]
To compound matters, shopping centres have been hit with a rising tax burden that has gone up by a factor of ten in recent years.
“For two years now, shopping centres have had their cadastral value increased, and therefore, their property tax – from two to ten times,” said Pavel Lyulin, the Vice President of STC.
He added that the property tax rate was likely to increase further over the course of this year.
Other industries are also facing the spectre of mass bankruptcies as they struggle to make ends meet in the challenging economic climate.
, hit by international sanctions and declining exports, have racked up 80 billion rubles (£650 million) in losses.
Meanwhile about 30 airlines are reported to be on the cusp of insolvency, as are many IT firms.
Companies are finding it increasingly difficult to secure essential funds to help them keep afloat, with hew loan issuance plummeting by 30-50% in November and December.
Borrowing on the debt market has also become increasingly challenging, as bond yields rise, and spreads between corporate bonds and government securities have widen significantly.