The Angolan government announced on Wednesday the postponement until next month of the deadline for the submission of bids for the rights to exploit diamond, iron and phosphate reserves in various parts of the country, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese government-run news agency quotes an announcement by the Angolan Ministry of Mineral Resources and Petroleum as saying some prospective bidders asked for the deadline to be postponed from this month.

The report says the new deadline is December 18.

The Angolan government put on a roadshow about the mining rights which stopped in Luanda, Beijing, Dubai, London and New York, Xinhua says.