FILE PHOTO: Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Maxim Akimov attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia June 6, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov on Monday called a draft law on limiting foreign ownership in major Russian information technology companies to 20% “destructive”.

“The competitiveness of the Russian economy is largely determined by the competitiveness of our companies,” Akimov said in a statement. “And this draft bill undermines stability and competitiveness of the companies, giving all tech market players wrong signals.”

The draft bill was submitted to the State Duma on Friday. Shares in Yandex, known as Russia’s Google, were up 3.6% in New York after Akimov’s statement.