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Hong Kong--News reports surfaced earlier this week that London-based Graff Diamonds is planning to launch a $1 billion initial public offering next year in Hong Kong.

The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Graff plans to use the capital to open more stores in Asia, a region of the world widely viewed as the future center of luxury consumption.

According to the report, Graff Diamonds is not set on Hong Kong as its listing location but is focusing there because of the success other luxury goods companies have had when listing there, including Prada, and its proximity to China.

Owned by London diamantaire Laurence Graff, Graff Diamonds is known worldwide for its purchase and sale of some of the world’s most extravagant loose diamonds and diamond jewelry.

Laurence Graff set a new world record price for any gem sold at auction last year when he paid $46.16 million for a 24.78-carat fancy intense pink diamond at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva. He named the emerald-cut diamond “The Graff Pink.”

A spokesperson for Graff Diamonds said the company is not commenting on the IPO.

The news is the latest in a line of major developments for the diamond industry. Just last week, Anglo American announced it was paying $5.1 billion to acquire the Oppenheimer family’s stake in De Beers, ending that family’s eight-decade run in the diamond industry.

Anglo American said the diamond industry has “highly attractive” long-term supply and demand fundamentals due in part to rising demand in Asian markets.