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The recent tender of stones, estimated by Bloomberg to have a value of $100 million, resulted in bids below what the state-owned diamond trader was looking for.Rough diamond prices have been under strain for a prolonged period, largely due to the...

The eagerly-awaited power project, one of the two final coal-fired plants planned for the country, is being developed as an Independent Power Project with Jindal carrying the costs of building the power station, running and maintaining it, whilst...

Preliminary data released by the Bank of Botswana shows that diamond exports began the year significantly weaker, being measured at P7.8 billion in the first quarter, compared to P11.7 billion over the corresponding period last year. However, in the...

No one needs to be reminded that the economy is in trouble. It doesn’t take the 5.3% contraction in the second quarter to tell you that economic activity and opportunities have significantly tightened.Much of the challenges are linked to the...

Traditionally, the diamond industry records its highest sales each year between Thanksgiving in the United States and the Chinese New Year, as couples get engaged, married and people exchange gifts over the festive period.The US accounts for more...

In April, the IMF forecast a 0.4 percent contraction, again based on the performance of diamonds. The Finance Ministry, in its last projections, said it expects the economy to contract by 0.4 percent.In a statement following meetings with local...

Amendments to the Value Added Tax Act passed by Parliament in August are awaiting assent by President Duma Boko. The Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) is meanwhile working around the clock to prepare for the changes, with deputy secretary of...

In a statement on Wednesday night, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) announced that its exports to the US were now free from tariffs. The US is now applying an arrangement where certain products can be imported at zero tariff if a bilateral...

After a short-lived honeymoon period, the new government has spent most of the first year of its tenure battling to steer the country away from a fiscal cliff and lay the tent pegs of economic transformation.Thanks to a confluence of adverse factors,...

A statement seen by Mmegi indicates that Angola's state-owned diamond miner, Endiama, has submitted a "fully financed offer to acquire a strategic minority stake in De Beers".Angola believes De Beers’ future depends on remaining a...

Preliminary figures from Statistics Botswana released this week indicate that the second quarter of the year jumped to a P1.6 billion surplus, following a string of deficits for all the quarters up to the Q2, 2023. In the first quarter of the year,...

The global ratings agency announced its decision over the weekend, marking the first downgrade since March 2020 when the country’s economy was clouded by COVID-19.S&P said the downgrade was due to the deterioration of public finances, due largely...

The price of money in the country has become a highly changeable, moving target that has pinched the pockets of ordinary households.Prime lending rates, the interest rates banks charge their best customers, uncoupled from the Bank of Botswana anchor...

The pace of food imports comes as the country’s foreign reserves decline due to the prolonged diamond downturn. The Bank of Botswana has said retail, including food, is amongst the biggest consumers of foreign currency in the country, together with...

Austrian investor, Cevdet Caner, and his investment firm, NIU Invest SE, have pledged to invest $200 million (P2.7bn) over a 10-year period to bring Phoenix Mine at Tataki back to profitable operations, creating more than 3,000 direct and indirect...