Leading South East Asian investment banker and securities company UOB KayHian has become the first broker to join the Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange (SDiX), according to media reports. Following this, the brokerage’s clientele will be able to trade on SDiX, a first of its kind commodity exchange for diamonds, the reports add.

UOB Kay Hian’s accredited investors and clients across South East Asian markets will have access to SDiX's platform. They will be able to trade in large single stones, or in batches of fungible small investment-grade diamonds, the exchange said. The smaller diamonds in a batch will be identical across all parameters and can be interchanged.

The media reports quote UOB Kay Hian senior executive director Esmond Choo as saying that the partnership creates opportunities for the brokerage's clients to participate in the polished diamond market, which is worth US$22 billion a year.

He also said that this marketplace is a first of its kind where diamonds can be traded with the security and efficiency expected of any financial asset.

SDiX chairman and founder Alain Vandenborre was quoted as saying: "Partnerships with leading institutions such as these underline the rapidly growing demand among investors and investment managers globally for new opportunities in diamond-backed investments."

SdiX had planned to start trading in September. However, senior officials told the media that the launch was postponed to the second quarter of this year due to regulatory approvals that brokerages had to obtain.