Press Release: The diamond industry has a few years to prepare for the next 50 years, said Paul Rowley, De Beers executive vice president of global sightholder sales.
Speaking at the Dubai Diamond Conference today, he said that all participants in the diamond industry must focus on targeted investments if they are to make the most of the opportunities over the medium and long term.
Rowley said Dubai is an example of how to generate success in the diamond industry through a series of targeted investments. Rowley noted that Dubai had grown from playing a minor role in the global diamond business to become one of the key trading centers by recognizing the opportunity on the horizon, then investing to create a positive enabling environment.
Highlighting De Beers’ activities throughout the diamond pipeline, Rowley noted that De Beers was also using targeted investments to position itself for future success.
“Starting with the consumer – as consumer demand is the only true source of value in the diamond trade – we invest in diamond equity. In the midstream, we invest in rough diamond sales and distribution excellence and improved efficiency, while upstream we continue to invest in production capacity expansion (with Cut 8, Venetia underground and Gahcho Kué) as well as exploration, so that we so that we can help meet increasing diamond demand.”
Rowley called on the wider industry to follow a similar program of targeted investment in order to maximize the potential of the industry’s exceptional medium and long-term demand outlook. “Here in Dubai, there has long been a clear appreciation of the need for timely action. Investments made many years ago are still paying off today. The leadership of this emirate saw the opportunity; they made the investments and they are now reaping the rewards. At De Beers, we continue to make investments throughout the value chain that we believe will drive our success in the years ahead and all participants in the diamond industry have the chance to do likewise.”
Rowley concluded by saying, however, that there was a limited window of opportunity for investments if their benefits are to be maximized. “The industry will soon be faced with a period of heightened opportunity, the like of which we have not seen in more than a generation. In order to capitalize fully on the opportunities, we need to focus now on the appropriate investments. There is no time to waste.”
A copy of the speech can be downloaded here.
About The De Beers Group of Companies
De Beers is a member of the Anglo American Group. Established in 1888, De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company with unrivaled expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint-venture partners, De Beers employs more than 20,000 people (directly and as contractors) across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As part of the company’s operating philosophy, the people of De Beers are committed to Living up to Diamonds by making a lasting contribution to the communities in which they live and work, and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth. For further information about De Beers, visit www.debeersgroup.com.
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