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Angola seeks changes to diamond sector to boost production, attract investors

Angola plans to revise the policies for its diamond industry in a bid to attract more investment, boost production and obtain higher revenues, Reuters wrote June 6, citing President Joao Lourenco.

The second-largest oil producer in Africa is looking to diversify its economy, which has been hit by a decline in crude oil prices.

Angola has had restrictive rules in place over diamond operations, including barring foreign companies from holding a majority interest and a requirement to sell all precious stones mined in the country via a central state-owned agency, according to a same-day report from Mining.com.

"We recognize that the policies for this sector, established by us, do not best serve the interests of the country nor of the producers," Lourenco said.

Angola is the world's fifth-largest producer of diamonds, but Russia's PJSC Alrosa is the sole major diamond miner producing in the country.

"We will soon announce the new framework for the diamond industry and we believe that with this, the big diamond mining companies will return to Angola," the official said, without providing further details.

Lourenco said he plans to double Angola's diamond output to 14 million carats in the next four years and also wants to increase the flow of the country's diamonds to Antwerp for increased transparency.

Currently, the country exports about 70% of its diamonds to the United Arab Emirates.