Botswana’s government will increase its ​stake in diamond producer De Beers to ‌30%, its president said on Monday, backing a bid by the Global Diamond Consortium group for the 85% ​stake put up for sale by Anglo American. “Botswana’s ​shareholding in De Beers will double from the ⁠current 15%. Botswana will become the single ​largest shareholder in De Beers,” President Duma Boko ​said in a speech in parliament. “Botswana will become the single largest shareholder in De Beers, and with that comes greater influence in ​the strategic decisions for decades to come.”

Boko said the governments of Namibia and Angola would participate ​in the De Beers transaction.

Swiss luxury group Richemont, owner of Cartier, is among companies in talks to join the Global Diamond ‌Consortium.

Anglo ⁠American said on Monday it would continue to work with Botswana, other governments and the Global Diamond Consortium towards agreeing binding transaction documents.

MOVING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL DIAMOND MARKET

Botswana’s stake in De Beers gives it exposure not only to natural diamonds but also to advanced technology through Element Six, the miner’s synthetic diamond ​business, Boko said.

“Our investment ​in De Beers is ⁠not just an investment in natural diamonds. It is an investment in technology,” he said.

Boko confirmed that Element Six will participate in a planned $600 million synthetic ​diamond plant that Reuters reported in January will be built in the US.

Demand ​for synthetic ⁠diamonds used in high-performance computing is likely to rise as artificial intelligence and large-scale data centres expand, creating new opportunities beyond the traditional diamond market, the president added.

The US government had asked Element Six to partner ⁠on synthetic ​diamond technology, Boko said. He said he had agreed with ​US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that the company should form the core of a new technology partnership between Botswana and the ​United States.