Saturday, December 02, 2000, updated at 18:54(GMT+8)
Business
China's Biggest Gemstone Trading Center Set in Wuzhou
Wuzhou, a small city with a huge gem processing industry, is now the setting for China's biggest gemstone trading center. Ground was recently broken on the construction of this center, which is to be called the Wuzhou Gemstone City.
Wuzhou Gemstone City's site covers an area of 33 mu (5.4 acres). An estimated 50 million renminbi (US$6 million) will be poured into the project.
Thirty thousand of Wuzhou's 260,000 residents are directly involved in the processing, transportation and sale of gemstones. The monthly production value of the city's man-made gemstone industry is more than Rmb 50 million (US$6 million).
According to unofficial statistics provided by China's diamond industry, annual sales of consumer-grade diamonds are currently growing at a rate of 40 percent, making China one of the world's fastest growing diamond jewelry markets.
Wuzhou, a small city with a huge gem processing industry, is now the setting for China's biggest gemstone trading center. Ground was recently broken on the construction of this center, which is to be called the Wuzhou Gemstone City.