Uncut diamond monopoly Alrosa received a syndicated loan Thursday worth $91.5 million from a consortium of Russian and foreign banks, the company said Thursday.

Russia's Ural-Siberian Bank was the loan's co-organizer.

The loan has a two-year duration and an interest rate of 11.5 percent.

The Bank of Moscow and Austria's Donau-Bank organized the consortium.

Alrosa accounts for 99.7 percent of uncut diamond production in Russia. The company produces 20 percent of the world's diamonds in terms of mass and 26 percent in terms of value.

(The Moscow Times 06.ix.02)