| Date: |
21-01-2016 |
| Subject: |
Small diamond cos to take part in De Beers auction |
|
Surat: For the first time, small and medium diamantaires will get an opportunity to participate in the rough diamond tender auction to be conducted by Diamdel, an online auction subsidiary of De Beers group. The auction will be held at the special notified zone (SNZ) in Mumbai. Following representations from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and the Surat Diamond Association (SDA), De Beers has agreed to register small and medium diamantaires wanting to participate in the tender auction of rough diamonds, free of cost.
De Beers sells a little less than 10% of its roughs through its online subsidiary Diamdel. The remaining 90% goes via long-term contracts that are sightholdings. The buyers wanting to register with Diamdel around the world have to pay $750 as registration fee. Until now, the auctions were held in Dubai and Belgium. India imports around $16 billion worth of rough diamonds per annum. While nearly 70% of the rough diamonds are imported from diamond mining companies including De Beers, Alrosa and Rio Tinto, the rest are imported from Antwerp and Dubai from the diamond dealers and diamond auctions conducted by the mining companies. For the first time, Diamdel will auction rough diamonds from next month at the India Diamond Trading Centre (IDTC) SNZ set up at the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Mumbai.
Dinesh Navadiya, regional chairman of GJEPC, told TOI, "It is a big opportunity for small and medium diamantaires to register for free with Diamdel and participate in the tender auction of rough diamonds. They (company) have agreed after a strong representation from GJEPC and SDA." According to Navadiya, an awareness drive has been launched to spread information about the development among the diamantaires.
"We have been telling diamantaires to quote less prices for the diamond lots to be offered for auction sale. This way, the industry will be in a position to command the prices of rough diamonds. Until now, the diamantaires have paid premiums and heavy interest to the diamond traders in the world. Now, things will change for good," said Navadiya.
Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
|