Diamond weighing 1lb cheers Mubadala-backed financier

Reuters

• Huge Botswana gem is 17.6oz
• Find is timely for Apex Group
• Botswana ‘a great opportunity’

The discovery in Botswana of a rough diamond weighing more than a pound, the second largest ever found, is likely to prove timely for Apex Group, the global financial services provider, which counts the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala among its key backers.

The huge gem’s discovery was announced on Thursday by Lucara Diamond Corp, the Canadian mining company.

Its CEO William Lamb said in a statement to UAE news agency Wam that the company was “ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond”.

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Almost simultaneously the Bermuda-headquartered Apex Group, which has $3 trillion in assets under administration, announced on Friday that it has appointed a new head of Botswana to investigate potential growth opportunities in the African country.

“We are a market that is quite cash-flush and is currently going through regulatory changes to increase fund allocation to 50 percent locally by 2027,” Itumeleng Moremong, Apex Group’s new Botswana head, told Bloomberg.

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“This allows the market to expand on its product offerings and poses a great opportunity for Apex.”

As Botswana’s president Mokgweetsi Masisi unveiled the massive diamond, which weights 17.6 ounces (498 grams), to the world, its discovery and the arrival of the UAE-backed global financier were both welcome news for his country’s stalling economy.

Its economic growth slowed to 1 percent this year, down from 5.5 percent in 2022 and 2.7 percent in 2023, according to the latest report issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month.

Luc Eyraud, division chief in the IMF’s African department, said after a visit to Botswana in July: “A sharp decline in diamond trading and mining activities was the main contributor to the slowdown, as global demand for rough diamonds decreased.

“Despite the weak diamond market, the external position improved last year because of strong customs union revenues.

“Looking ahead, the economy is expected to decelerate further this year, with growth projected at 1 percent.

“The continued slowdown is mainly due to a fall in diamond production. In the medium term, growth is expected to converge towards 4 percent, as diamond mining recovers.”