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De Beers to Shut Dubai Auction Base
Jun 15, 2017 7:54 AM
By Joshua Freedman
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RAPAPORT... De Beers will close its auction-sales office in Dubai due to
declining demand from local companies, the miner has announced.
Operations will cease on July 31, meaning De Beers will no
longer display rough diamonds there from the year’s sixth sales cycle onward, the
company told clients this week in a letter obtained by Rapaport News.
The global rough-auctions business has shifted focus to
Mumbai since the establishment of a special notified zone (SNZ) in the Bharat
Diamond Bourse in 2015. Before then, many traders in India would
travel to Dubai to source rough.
“Our ability to meet Indian-based customer needs...through
the SNZ over the last year and a half or so has been a great success, and we
continue to see significant opportunities in India,” a De Beers spokesperson said
Thursday.
“However, this has carried the consequence of steadily
diminishing demand from Dubai-based businesses over that period to the point
where a business case for a permanent Dubai presence no longer makes sense for
us,” he added.
Customers whose business with De Beers is currently managed through Dubai will receive new account managers in Mumbai. Meanwhile, potential buyers will be able to view diamonds at the SNZ in Mumbai or at De Beers’ other offices in Antwerp, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong and New York.
De Beers is working to find alternative employment for the two members
of the account-management team in Dubai. The company — which set up the base in
2011 — will still have a presence in the emirate through representatives of
Global Sightholder Sales, De Beers’ contract-sales operation.
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Tags:
Antwerp, Auctions, De Beers, De Beers auction sales, De Beers auctions, Dubai, Global Sightholder Sales, Hong Kong, IDTC, India, India Diamond Trading Centre, Joshua Freedman, mumbai, new york, Rapaport News, Rough Diamonds, rough trading, SNZ, special notified zone, US
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