Qatar’s Ras Bufontas Free Zone Diamond Exchange Signs Seventh Partner — Still No Trading Numbers

FTZ News: Qatar’s diamond exchange signed another cooperation agreement this week, its seventh since it opened in July. The partner is a Southern African trade association. The exchange still has not said whether any diamonds are actually being traded.

The memorandum with the Diamond, Gem & Jewellery Association of Southern Africa was signed at the exchange’s base in the Ras Bufontas Free Zone, next to the airport. Members will be introduced to each other. There will be invitations to tenders and auctions. People will visit. No volumes. No dates.

The association is not a miners’ group. It was put together from two South African dealer clubs, and its president, Molefi Letsiki, is a Johannesburg diamond manufacturer. He is also treasurer of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses. Last week the head of Dubai’s Multi Commodities Centre said he would support Letsiki to run the federation in 2029. The Qatari agreement comes as Qatar tries to build its own diamond hub in a region where Dubai already handles the bulk of Gulf trade.

Ghanim Al-Saadi, who runs the Qatari exchange, said the deal should bring producers, traders and buyers closer together. Letsiki said it gives his members a new channel. Congo’s ambassador was at the signing. Earlier in the week, representatives from 13 African countries visited the exchange. The exchange did not identify the visitors or say whether any had made investment or trading commitments.

Qatar has positioned the free zones as the sole legal entry and exit points for rough diamonds under a 2025 law. The exchange sits inside one of them. Companies that qualify get full foreign ownership and no corporate tax. There is a vault with biometric access and Kimberley Process certification on site. The Qatar Free Zones Authority created the exchange, and the authority’s chief executive, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Faisal Al Thani, chairs it. Publicly available information does not clarify how the restriction is enforced.

It is a hard market. De Beers’ rough sales dropped to $1.3 billion in the first half of the year from $1.7 billion a year earlier. Anglo American is still trying to sell the company. De Beers said last month that demand in the U.S. and India was steadying, but lab-grown stones keep pressuring prices of cheaper natural diamonds. Dubai, the established Gulf hub, reported a record $41.7 billion in diamond trade for 2025. Qatar has published nothing comparable.

The earlier agreements, with bourses in London, Milan, Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong, were also light on obligations. The London one was described as nonbinding. The exchange has not disclosed how many members it has or provided figures showing whether the agreements have translated into trading activity./.