Moscow doubles subsidies to attract new local foodchains to the city

Moscow has doubled the state support available for opening a fastfood chain in the city to 5 million roubles ($63,000), a city spokeswoman told Reuters, hoping this will help plug the gap left by foreign fast food chains that suspended activities.

Western companies from McDonald's and Starbucks to Deutsche Bank and Shell have stepped back from Russia, under pressure from customers and their governments to inflict an economic price on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a 'special operation' that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.

Moscow city authorities have also doubled the total funds in the support programme to 1 billion roubles, they said on social media, adding 17 companies, including Russian pancake chain Teremok, requested the funds for projects in the city of 12.7 million.

Miratorg, Russia's top meat producer which also runs its own burgerhouses, has also submitted a request for funding, hoping this would enable it to open 30 or more new sites, in addtion to the 15 openings originally intended for this year, a spokeswoman told Reuters.

($1 = 79.2000 roubles)