The Beny Steinmetz Group (BSG) is planning to float its Sierra Leone diamond mine on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Financial Times reported.
The group’s Octea subsidiary, which owns the Koidu mine, is looking to raise between $400 and $600 million through the initial public offering, which will give the mine a value of $2 to $3 billion.
The funds will be used to develop a new diamond mine in Sierra Leone, to expand group production and achieve annual output of 2.5 million carats. Production at Koidu is expected to reach 500,000 carats in 2012, the Financial Times reported.
BSG founder, Beny Steinmetz, told the Financial Times that the Hong Kong listing will not include any part of Steinmetz, stressing that it does not make sense to integrate the mining and manufacturing components of the diamond business into one unit. BSG also has interests in iron ore, oil and gas.
The company could be offered to Hong Kong investors in the second half of 2012, according to the Financial Times.
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