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RAPAPORT...
Press Release: The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) has announced the keynote speakers for the 2009 Antwerp Diamond Symposium, which will be held on November 16. With the theme “The Diamond Industry in the New Economy,” the symposium will examine the state of the diamond markets and their prospects as the global economy starts along the path toward recovery.
The symposium will feature sessions focusing on the rough diamond supply, polished demand, financial issues and other burning issues, which will include generic marketing.
One of the major focuses of the symposium will be on finance, where experts will discuss the change in outlook at the banking institutions serving the industry. The finance session will include representatives from leading banks involved in the diamond business. These include Victor van der Kwast, corporate executive vice president and chief executive officer (CEO) of ABN AMRO’s international diamond and jewelry business; Pierre de Bosscher, chief executive of the Antwerp Diamond Bank; and Kishore Lall, managing director of Standard Chartered Bank.
Des Kilalea, a longtime industry analyst who now works for the Royal Bank of Canada, will provide his view on the diamond supply in his address "Diamonds — Where Will All the Rough Come From?”
Another speaker will be Thomas Leysen, chairman of Umicore NV, a Belgian-based multinational materials technology company, and chairman of the Federation of Belgian Enterprises (FEB-VBO).
Meanwhile, the symposium will provide representatives of the mining companies the opportunity to explain their positions. The panel on the rough diamond trade will feature representatives from all the key mining groups — De Beers, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and ALROSA.
“The Antwerp Diamond Symposium is again being held at a critical point in time for the diamond industry,” said Freddy J. Hanard, CEO of the AWDC. “The global economy has undergone far-reaching changes that have reached into every industry. We want to know exactly how these changes are affecting the diamond business. We need to look forward to see how we need to adapt as a trade in order to stay relevant to the needs and requirements of consumers. With some of the finest minds in the diamond industry taking part in this symposium, we are confident that we will be able to help chart a course through still dangerous waters.”
The 2009 Antwerp Diamond Symposium will be held in the Province, which is the seat of the government of the Province of Antwerp. An online registration service for the Antwerp Diamond Symposium is available on a dedicated website located at www.antwerpdiamondsymposium.com.
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) is the official representative of the Belgian diamond sector, charged with managing the relationship between the diamond sector and government and promoting the interests of the Belgian diamond industry worldwide.
The Antwerp diamond sector generates 34,000 jobs in direct and indirect employment. Total diamond imports and exports represented $45 billion in 2008. Eighty percent of the rough diamonds and 50 percent of the polished diamonds worldwide pass through Antwerp. Rapaport News is not responsible for, and does not endorse, the content of any press release. Press releases are not written by us and are provided only as additional information for our clients.
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