Alrosa will have to sell stake in Angola's Catoca, deal under discussion with investors - Deputy Finance Minister Moiseyev

MOSCOW. April 26 (Interfax) - Alrosa will have to sell its stake in Angola's Catoca diamond mining company owing to the latter's concerns about the prospects for collaborating with the sanctioned Russian company, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev told reporters.

"The Angolans believe that the presence of Alrosa as a key shareholder is preventing them from developing their business. In general, they have fair reasons for this. We are already seeing that many Western companies, both suppliers and buyers of stones, are beginning to say, 'You have Alrosa as a shareholder, so we will not work with you'. Therefore, various options are currently under consideration, though the meaning of this is of course that the asset will have to be sold, apparently," Moiseyev said.

Moiseyev also said that negotiations on Alrosa's exit have moved in a constructive direction, and the transaction amount is under discussion with "friendly investors".