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India's GJEPC Hosts Banking Conference
Apr 3, 2013 6:20 AM
By Avi Krawitz
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RAPAPORT... India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) hosted a banking conference on Wednesday aimed at strengthening the diamond industry’s relationship with the banking sector.
Key speakers at the conference included Pratip Chaudhuri, the chairman of the State Bank of India, Snehlata Shrivastava, additional secretary at the Ministry of Finance, and Chinmoy Kumar, the deputy general manager at the Reserve Bank of India, along with members of the diamond trade. Other participating banks included ABN Amro, Scotia Bank, Antwerp Diamond Bank and Standard Charter Bank.
With Basel 3 regulations being implemented this year, the global banking sector is exercising greater scrutiny in lending, including in India. Earlier this year, Maxim Shkadov, the chairman of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), criticized the Indian banking sector for allowing clients to use funds earmarked for rough purchases and manufacturing to speculate on rough prices.
Vipul Shah, the chairman of the GJEPC, countered the charge, saying that the GJEPC has condemned such practice in the past and that Shkadov’s statement was not supported with facts. Shah recently noted in an interview with Rapaport News that the large number of Indian banks operating in the diamond sector helped alleviate some of their challenges.
Indian bank credit to the diamond industry is estimated to be about $6 billion with an average utilization rate of around $5.3 billion.
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Tags:
Avi Krawitz, Banking, diamonds, GJEPC, Rapaport
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