Namibia throws hat into De Beers ring
Mbongeni Mguni | Tuesday November 18, 2025 08:33
The Namibian Sun on Tuesday reported unnamed government sources as saying the Cabinet in that country had approved a push for between 10 and 15% equity in De Beers. Anglo American, which has been an investor in De Beers for more than 90 years, is finalising a shortlist of bidders for its 85% stake in the diamond group, as part of a strategic shift towards minerals such as copper.
“We are interested, but there remain concerns about our financial capacity to afford a stake,”
“We are talking to Angola and Botswana to join forces. “All three countries recognise that none of them alone can secure a significant share,” the Namibian Sun quoted the government sources as saying.
Separately, Bloomberg quoted a government insider as confirming the Namibian Sun’s reporting.
The latest developments come on the heels of President Duma Boko’s reaffirmation on Monday that Botswana is seeking a majority stake in De Beers, a company to which Botswana contributes two-thirds production annually.
“Concrete steps are underway towards the acquisition of Anglo American shares in De Beers,” Boko told Parliament during the State of the Nation Address. “Government will leverage a majority stake. “I must state this and state it emphatically and unapologetically. “Government will leverage a majority stake to align the industry with Botswana's national development goal of economic diversification through beneficiation.”
Angola, which initially had indicated its intent to pursue a minority stake in De Beers, recently upped its bid to a majority, saying it was financially-backed by Persian Gulf sovereign wealth fund.
In a meeting in Gaborone last Friday, Minerals and Energy minister, Bogolo Kenewendo and her Angolan counterpart, Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, said they were “perfectly aligned” in their positions on the De Beers stake.
“We're working on intra-Africa relations, trade relations and we need to ensure that those principles also trickle down to diamonds,” Kenewendo told BusinessWeek exclusively after the meeting. “All we can comment on for now is that we have a good partnership, good collaboration. “We are partners and we intend to stay that way for the next foreseeable future.”
She added: “Most important is to ensure that we are working on stimulating the market together.”
In June, Botswana, Angola, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa as well as other companies and industry bodies, signed the Luanda Accord in which they agreed to contribute one percent of their revenues from diamonds to a collaborative marketing campaign under the Natural Diamond Council.
Azevedo told BusinessWeek that the campaign was critical for both countries’ economies.
“We signed the Luanda Accord some months back and we discussed all things related to the marketing of the diamond,” he said. “We agreed that we'll do everything that is in our hands to maintain the natural diamond as that must be for the sake of the countries and our population and we have a proper strategy to do that.”
The Namibian Sun quoted government officials as saying the country hoped to leverage its push for a stake in De Beers on the Luanda Accord.
“The idea is for the three countries (Angola, Botswana, Namibia) to jointly own a majority in De Beers. “Through the Luanda Accord, we aim to strengthen the market for natural diamonds and ensure we remain key decision-makers in the global diamond trade,” the officials said.
Botswana is the world’s most diamond dependent economy, with the precious stones contributing about a third of Gross Domestic Product and the bulk of foreign currency receipts annually. Whilst Namibia and Angola are less dependent on diamonds, the stones are important to their economies.
Angola, in particular, is seen as the most diamond prospective country in Africa, and possibly the world, with De Beers fast-tracking exploration and development of resources long delayed by a prolonged civil war in that country.