COLOMBO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government on Thursday said it was in talks with a Dubai-based company which has offered 100 million U.S. dollars for the "Queen of Asia", the world's largest natural corundum blue sapphire found in Sri Lanka.
State Minister of Gem and Jewellery Related Industries Lohan Ratwatte was quoted in the local Daily Mirror as saying that there has been no final decision taken by the Sri Lankan government on the company's offer to sell the "Queen of Asia", but talks were ongoing between the company and the stone owner on its sale for a high price.
Discussions were also underway on whether to auction the corundum blue sapphire at an even higher price, Ratwatte said.
The owner of the stone recently said that one of the French gem scientists had valued the corundum sapphire at more than 200 million U.S. dollars.
Officials last month said the stone had also attracted interest from potential buyers in China and the United States.
The single crystal blue sapphire, which weighs around 310 kilograms, was unveiled in December about three months after it was found from a private land in Ratnapura, which is known as the "city of gems" in Sri Lanka and located about 115 kilometers from the commercial capital Colombo.
The sapphire is presently stored in a laboratory owned by Sri Lanka's National Gem and Jewelry Authority. ■
