2nd largest diamond mkt

China's increasingly affluent middle class and vast pool of customers are seen as key factors for the rise in diamond sales in the world's most populous country. -- PHOTO: AP

BEIJING - CHINA last year overtook Japan to become the world's second largest diamond market behind the United States with trade on the Shanghai diamond exchange rising 16.4 per cent to more than US$1.5 billion (S$2.11 billion), state media said.

The official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday the year-on-year rise, when much of the rest of the world was mired in deep recession, was due to China's boisterous economic growth in 2009, which reached 8.7 per cent.

'As the economy continued to develop in a stable manner, consumer demand for jewellery continued to grow, especially for diamonds for the wedding market,' Xinhua said on its website (www.xinhuanet.com).

'In this year, China overtook Japan to become the world's second largest diamond market for consumers behind the United States,' it added.

China's increasingly affluent middle class and vast pool of customers are seen as key factors for the rise in diamond sales in the world's most populous country.

Demand for diamonds only really started to develop in the 1990s when De Beers brought its global advertising campaign to China, tapping into the Chinese desire for conspicuous consumption and pursuit of Western lifestyle trends. De Beers is 45 per cent-owned by mining group Anglo American. -- REUTERS