The Russian Finance Minister has not ruled out the possibility of purchasing rough diamonds from ALROSA to support the diamond mining company, but there are currently no decisions made on this matter.
"We are considering various options for supporting the company, which were used in previous difficult situations in world diamond markets," Interfax quotes Finance Minister Anton Siluanov as saying.
"We are talking about the possibility of purchasing diamonds as part of our Gokhran interventions."
According to him, the authorities are purchasing gold for Gokhran and are also ready to consider purchasing rough diamonds. He also noted that diamonds are an asset that will be in demand and liquid as government reserves.
Siluanov added that ALROSA is "generally on firm ground." The company’s debt to EBITDA ratio has increased following a decline in revenue due to world market trends. At the same time, the company's debt itself has not increased.
In March, head of Yakutia Aisen Nikolaev said that ALROSA could turn to Gokhran for help in purchasing rough diamonds "only in case of real need," and also noted the first signs of stabilization in the diamond market. The share of the Republic of Yakutia in ALROSA's share capital is 25%.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
