{"id":329532,"date":"2026-03-14T15:25:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T15:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/329532\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T15:25:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T15:25:07","slug":"fresh-challenges-for-africas-diamond-powerhouse-botswana-as-sp-downgrades-credit-rating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/329532\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresh challenges for Africa\u2019s diamond powerhouse, Botswana as S&#038;P downgrades credit rating"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n        Credit rating agency S&amp;P Global Ratings has downgraded Botswana\u2019s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings to BBB- from BBB, citing <a href=\"https:\/\/africa.businessinsider.com\/local\/markets\/africas-top-jewel-producer-botswana-struggles-to-sell-diamonds-amid-85-oversupply\/zm85nw9\" id=\"db93c018-01e3-4747-adc2-9c2f76482688\" data-link-role-code=\"open_new_tab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">prolonged weakness in the global diamond market<\/a> that is expected to weigh on the country\u2019s minerals-dependent economy for longer than anticipated.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Botswana is one of the world\u2019s leading producers of natural rough diamonds and Africa\u2019s largest diamond producer, with the sector historically accounting for about 70% of exports and roughly one-third of government revenue.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        According to S&amp;P, the downgrade reflects mounting vulnerabilities in an economy heavily dependent on diamonds.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        However, the global diamond industry has entered a prolonged downturn. S&amp;P noted that lab-grown diamonds have captured around 20% of the global market by value and up to 50% by volume in the U.S. engagement ring segment, significantly eroding demand for natural stones.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        At the same time, weak consumer spending in major markets such as China, alongside shifting preferences toward gold jewelry and luxury spending slowdowns, has further dampened demand.\n    <\/p>\n<p>                    <img width=\"790\" height=\"593\" alt=\"S&amp;P noted that lab-grown diamonds have captured around 20% of the global market by value and up to 50% by volume in the U.S. engagement ring segment,\" title=\"S&amp;P noted that lab-grown diamonds have captured around 20% of the global market by value and up to 50% by volume in the U.S. engagement ring segment,\" class=\"image lazyloaded imgWithMetaData\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'593'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-original=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/3LkktkuTURBXy9kZTlhOTgxNC1mM2Q2LTQzYTYtODc4Yy04YTE5Nzg0ZDY1YjUuanBlZ5KVAwAAzQ_AzQvQlQLNAxbNAlHCww\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>\n        Output fell 27% to 17.9 million carats in 2024, before declining further to 15.1 million carats in 2025. Production is expected to remain around 15 million carats in 2026, roughly 40% below 2023 levels.\n    <\/p>\n<p>        Diamond dependence exposes economic limits<\/p>\n<p>\n        Limited diversification means fluctuations in diamond demand quickly translate into fiscal pressure and slower economic growth.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        S&amp;P expects Botswana\u2019s economy to grow only 2.5% in 2026, following contractions of 2.8% in 2024 and 0.4% in 2025. Meanwhile, the fiscal deficit is projected to reach 8.9% of GDP in the 2026\/27 financial year, only slightly improving from 9.3% the previous year.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n        Without significant economic diversification or a strong rebound in global diamond demand, analysts warn that the country\u2019s growth prospects and fiscal stability could remain under strain for years.\n    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit rating agency S&amp;P Global Ratings has downgraded Botswana\u2019s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329533,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,219,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-329532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}