Alrosa, Shanghai Diamond Exchange Ink Agreement

Rough diamonds mined by Russian state-owned diamond company Alrosa will soon be sold at auction in the largest city in the world, Shanghai. The new arrangement is the result of a letter of intent signed Monday by Alrosa president Fyodor Andreev and Shanghai Diamond Exchange president Lin Qiang, Diamond Intelligence reports.

The letter of intent does not specify the conditions under which the rough diamond sales will be held, but commits the two parties to drawing these up.

The pact is the latest effort by Alrosa to increase its presence in China, whose diamond market is rapidly growing. Five months ago Alrosa signed a multi-year diamond supply agreement with Chinese jewelry producer Chow Tai Fook. Andreev recalled other pacts of this nature and toasted China's dynamism and development, according to Diamond Intelligence.

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