Shenzhen to Get New Rough Diamond Trading Center

One of China's most important trade regions is about to get a new center for rough diamond trading, Rough and Polished reports. The government of Shenzhen, a city of more than 10 million people just north of Hong Kong, and the first city in China where a Special Economic Zone was built to allow for major foreign investment, has given its backing to the project, as has a major lending facility.

Sino-Africa Diamond, the firm bottom-lining the project, has secured a tentative credit line of $330 million from the China Construction Bank in order to construct the center and to purchase rough diamonds from outside the country. To this end, the diamond company forged direct links with miners and traders in South Africa and Botswana.

Botswana Ambassador to China George Sasara blessed the project, noting that the relationship between the two countries has bloomed of late, owing to Botswana's production of gem-quality rough diamonds and China's huge consumer market, according to Rough and Polished.

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