P.M. BRIEFING : Soviet Loan Stands--De Beers
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LUCERNE, Switzerland — An agreement by diamond firm De Beers to lend the Soviet Union $1 billion in return for rights to market its diamonds stands despite news that the Russian Federation has declared it void, a De Beers representative said today.
“As far as we are concerned, we entered into a valid contract with the duly constituted authorities,” said Terence Davidson, representing De Beers Centenary AG, the Swiss affiliate of South Africa’s De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd.
The Soviet government last month gave De Beers exclusive rights for five years to market the country’s diamond output--estimated to be worth up to $5 billion.
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