Hope shimmers for troubled diamond market
Friday, January 19, 2024 | 710 Views |
Upbeat: Cook and Drosos are key partners in the industry PIC: DE BEERS
Signet, which is responsible for the sale of half of Botswana's diamonds in the retail market each year, shared signals of hope with both De Beers and local media during a round-table last week. Its CEO, Gina Drosos, said the global diamond market is entering a three-year period of recovery which will lead to a price rebound in the market and stronger demand for diamonds from this year.
“We had predicted that the world would go through a three-year period of price downturn following the pandemic and now that it is over, we predict a recovery for the next three years that will strengthen demand and help prices,” she said.
That sounds like good news. But the report also warns that this may simply be because our digital economy is still young, not because we are safe. As more people shop, bank and pay online, criminals will follow.We Batswana do not need a report to tell us that danger is real. Many of us have heard of or fallen victim to KYC scams. A caller impersonates your bank or mobile money provider. They say they need to “verify” your account. They ask...