Diamond bullion to be listed in Singapore

THEY say diamonds are a girl's best friend, well these friends may soon be traded.

Designed to bolster investment in diamonds as an asset class, the Singapore Diamond Mint Company (SDM) on Tuesday announced the launch of Diamond Bullion. This bullion will be exclusively listed on the Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange (SDiX), the world's first and only electronic exchange for trading investment-grade diamonds.

The bullion will be initially available in two case colours of silver and gold, valued at US$100,000 and US$200,000 respectively. The silver diamond bullion was soft-launched on Oct 2 and was US$106,450 on the SDiX as at market close on Oct 6.

Issued by the SDM, the Diamond Bullion is a portable, credit card-sized package of investment-grade polished diamonds sourced at wholesale prices, and issued in standard denominations. This listing will make it a fungible product that can be exchange-traded for instant price transparency and liquidity.

Investors will be able to trade their diamond bullions globally and obtain real-time pricing data via the SDiX website or the SDM mobile app.

Additionally, trades are recorded in the SDiX Electronic Central Depository, while digital ledger services will be available via blockchain in the future, SDM and SDiX said in a joint release on Tuesday.

SDM chairman, Francis Yeoh said: "The Diamond Bullion is designed to be the 'Gold Bullion for diamonds': a standard, portable and highly liquid format that allows investors to access the unlocked and true value of diamonds for the first time. Investment diamonds are the most concentrated form of wealth on earth, and is an investment that can be passed on to future generations for years to come."