Diamond India to import 100 kg of gold by mid-July.

Diamond India (DIL), formed by 58 diamond manufacturers for the direct import of rough diamonds, will import a bulk consignment of more than 100 kg of gold into the country by mid-July. Formed in 2006, DIL was added to the list of 23 nominated agencies authorised by RBI to import gold into the country only last year.

“We are in the process of tying up with overseas suppliers as well as international couriers who have bonded warehouses in the country,” said Praveenshankar Pandya, chairman, DIL. While Mr Pandya confirmed that Standard Bank will be one of the suppliers, he declined to name other suppliers on the grounds that the company was still finalising agreements with some of them. The reason for seeking an RBI licence to import gold directly was to service jewellery exporters in far-flung areas who find it difficult to get gold supplies from banks on time.

“Gold is an integral part of diamond jewellery manufacturing and DIL aims to cater to this segment,” said an official from an international bullion bank. DIL will sell gold and offer gold loan schemes to jewellers interested in purchasing the metal from it.

The premium on gold loans, according to Mr Pandya, will be more competitive than that charged by banks which import the precious metal on consignment basis.

The loans by banks have a tenure of six months normally and the pricing of the gold takes place on the day the jeweller wants to pay for it.

“The premium on such loans will be marginally above the fix carried out twice a day by the London Gold Market Fixing,” said Mr Pandya. DIL is setting up offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur, Surat and Kolkata to service jewellers.
Leading nominated agencies for gold imports include MMTC, Bank of Nova Scotia, HDFC Bank and SBI, among others.


Source : The Economic Times