Singapore: the global marketplace for gems?

Singapore could become the global marketplace for gems, according to one mining company.

Gemfields, which owns 75 per cent of a ruby mine in Mozambique, hopes to produce up to 30 per cent of the world's ruby supply in the next two to three years. The company just sold 1.82 million carats of 2.03 million carats offered at auction in June, its first ever held in Singapore.

"It is safe, has great weather, and a tax-free environment," the company told The Business Times, saying Singapore's neutrality has the potential to become the world's marketplace for gemstone trading.