THE country’s diamond industry comes under the spotlight today and tomorrow during the inaugural Zimbabwe Diamond conference in Victoria Falls.
Report by the Business Reporter
With hundreds of delegates expected in the country, the conference seeks to expose the potential of the diamond sector in a bid to attract fresh investment.
The conference comes at a time when the under-performance of diamond revenue has negatively affected economic growth prospects.
Projected revenue sales for the year have been revised downwards from $600 million to $150 million on account of a slump in world prices of the precious mineral.
He said the diamond conference presented an opportunity for the country to manage its perception and lure more investment into the diamond industry in particular and mining as a whole.
A local independent reaserch firm, Equity Communications early this year said Zimbabwe was poised to become the world’s second-largest diamond producer in six years, doubling its market share to 17%. According to Rapaport, Zimbabwe is ranked seventh after producing diamonds worth $334 million last year.
Kimberly Process chairperson Gillian Milovanovic and others representing international diamond companies and organisation are expected to attend the two-day conference which ends tomorrow.
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International speakers at the event will include Milovanovic, representatives from African Diamond Producers Association, World Diamond Council and the World Federation of Bourses on Diamonds, among others. The country currently has four companies operating in Chiadzwa.
