Angolan president João Lourenço has made reform of diamond mining one of the key objectives of his mandate, as he tries to end the decades-long hold of the dos Santos clan over the sector. He is betting on the deregulation of diamond sales and the development of diamond-related activities in Angola itself to attract investors and increase state revenues. So far, his efforts have produced little in the way of results.
Angola did not respond warmly to the arguments put forward by a delegation of diamond industry leaders from Antwerp, who travelled to Luanda to pursuade João Lourenço to end Dubai's virtual monopoly over the country's diamond production. [...]
The Fundo Soberano de Angola, a leftover from the dos Santos era, has lost its shine since João Lourenço came to power. The technocrats appointed in 2018 to run the fund have been forced to shrink their ambitions in the face of a drastic reduction of its portfolio and the government's patent lack of interest. [...]
The wealthy Indian Kothari family, which owns the KGK Group gemstone and jewellery company, is backing João Lourenço's shake-up of the diamond sector. By helping the president with his plan to make Angola more than a mere producer of stones, the Kotharis are counting on better access to the country's output. [...]
The sale of Brazilian Odebrecht 8.2% stake in Sociedade Mineira do Catoca (SMC) to Endiama was finally concluded on 21 January for $70m. [...]
Angola is turning to India in its search for new markets for its diamonds. Which looks like a win-win situation for both countries, as many diamond dealers in Mumbai are keen to end Dubai's stranglehold on Angolan stones. [...]
The Dubai Diamond Exchange currently handles 90% of diamonds produced in Angola, and it wants things to stay that way. It is taking steps it hopes will prevent Luanda's mining sector reforms from reducing its market share. [...]
Trustco, owned by the Namibian Van Rooyen family, is in talks over $86m in funding to explore a diamond mine in Sierra Leone, a country where Jan Joubert, head of resources, used to work for BSGR. [...]
The Saurimo diamond hub, a pillar of President Lourenço's diamond sector reforms, is still on the lookout for international investors to occupy its diamond cutting workshops, currently under construction. [...]
With the help of Belgian expert Peter Meeus, the Angolan government has identified three key steps it needs to take before opening a diamond exchange in Luanda by the end of next year. [...]
South Africa's Petra Diamonds, which has been absent from Angola's diamond sector since 2009, is in talks with the government to develop new projects in the country. The firm is one of a growing number of foreign investors being courted by President Lourenço's administration. [...]
The centrepiece of Angola's mining reform, the new sector regulatory authority, will be lead by the former deputy director-general of South Africa's mines ministry, Jacinto Rocha. Joining Rocha are former Ferrangol executives and officials from other national regulators. [...]
Angola has passed a key milestone in the restructuring of its mining sector with the new organisation of its national regulatory agencies. A wave of privatisations is to follow as President Lourenço continues to push for a more investor-friendly environment. [...]
As it proceeds with a wide-ranging reform of the Angolan mining sector, in which diamonds are the main component, President João Lourenço's government is thought to be negotiating with precious stones expert Peter Meeus to get him to help it fine-tune its strategy. [...]
President João Lourenço has revoked the mining permit for the Maua diamond site that had been run since 2013 by firms owned, according to the Luanda Leaks, by his predecessor's daughter, Isabel dos Santos. The decision comes amid a wave of changes to the mining industry driven by the head of state. [...]
As the media storm continues to rage over the alleged [...]
The government's recent move to allow extractors of Angolan diamonds to trade their output themselves has encouraged Lucapa to take a step further into the diamond value chain. [...]
Since João Lourenço's arrival in power, the Luanda authorities have [...]
Now that the public firm Sodiam only controls 20% of [...]
To keep its position as the leading trading hub for Angolan diamonds now that the sector has been opened to private enterprise, Dubai is deploying a mix of business tactics and diplomacy. [...]
President João Lourenço may be working hard to breathe fresh life into the country's diamond industry, doing away with the practices of his predecessor José Eduardo dos Santos's era is proving more difficult. Even as the country opens its mines [. [...]
With new opportunities to be had with Angola's diamond trade now open to private enterprise, the South African company has decided to open a branch in the country. [...]
The former head of sales at state-owned diamond trader Sodiam, Helder Milagre has inaugurated a diamond cutting plant in Luanda. [...]
The South African entrepreneur Ernest Blom who heads the eponymous Johannesburg-based diamond processing and trading firm Ernest Blom Diamonds (EBD), [...]
On the back of the diamond sector reform launched in January (AMI 433), Angolan president Joao Lourenco has sunk his [...]
Following on from the reform to the country's oil & gas sector he launched in August (AEI 823), Angolan minister [...]
The grand reception put on in Luanda for the Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC) on September 11 was Angolan President [...]
The new law on the trade of diamonds produced in [...]
The sweeping changes brought throughout the mining sector by new president Joao Lourenco have kick started the mining community in action. But to ensure it isn't all just political posturing and it can actually secure foreign investment, the new administration [. [...]
As Angolan state-owned company Sodiam can no longer call on [...]
