$300m Loan to Boost Okavango Diamond Purchases
September 01, 24
(IDEX Online) - Botswana's state-owned diamond marketing company will increase its borrowing to fund additional rough purchases.
Finance Minister Peggy Serame said last Thursday (29 August) that the government had arranged a $300m credit facility, with the Standard Chartered Bank for the Okavango Diamond Company (ODC).
It hopes to capitalize on a long-awaited recovery the global diamond market.
At the moment ODC's limited cash reserves mean it can only buy $70m of its allocation of diamonds produced by Debswana, the 50/50 joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government.
ODC holds 10 auctions a year to sell its 25% allocation from Debswana. That share is set to double to 50 per cent over the next decade, as part of a deal agreed last year between Botswana and De Beers.
Last October ODC halted its rough sales amid weak demand.
Pic courtesy ODC.