Botswana wants control of iconic South African-founded company

Botswana President Duma Boko reiterated a plan to take control of De Beers, rebuffing a warning from the International Monetary Fund that the diamond market’s prolonged slump makes it a risky undertaking.

Boko has repeatedly said the government intends to acquire a majority interest in the iconic diamond company, which produces most of its gems in the country.

Anglo American wants to offload its 85% stake, yet the IMF has cautioned that the nation’s weak economic outlook and already high dependence on diamonds make such a purchase perilous.

“Others are saying don’t buy De Beers, yet it gets 70% of its diamonds from Botswana, and we only own 15% of it,” Boko said at a meeting outside the capital, Gaborone. “We want to take a bigger share and become the real owners.”

The country has been hammered by diamonds’ downturn as the sector grapples with a drop in Chinese demand, uncertainty around US tariffs and fierce competition from lab-grown stones. Boko has said natural gems would recover if Botswana had more sway over marketing the product.

“Diamonds are not selling due to the process being used, and we have to overhaul it,” he said. “That’s why we are saying these diamonds are ours and we want to control them.”

Botswana faces competition for the De Beers stake. The head of Angola’s state-owned diamond producer, Endiama EP, said in October that his company had offered to buy Anglo’s entire holding. 

Boko said he’s ready to collaborate with other parties interested in acquiring a stake. 

In addition to African governments, investor groups led by former De Beers executives have shown interest in buying the company since a formal sales process kicked off in June.