RAPAPORT... The Diamond Trading Company (DTC) opened its sightholder registration process for the 2012 contract period, stressing that applicants will need to provide solid financial data and adhere to strict De Beers best practice principles to be considered.
Online registration will close at midnight on April 18. Selected applicants will then be asked to submit contract proposal questionnaires (CPQ) between May 3 and July 7. To facilitate registrations, the company set up a website, www.newsightholdercontract.com.
Mahiar Borhanjoo, DTC’s executive director of sales and sightholder services, explained that the DTC will look first at an applicant’s audited financial statements for proof of their financial strength and reliability.
Applicants for sights in the U.K., Botswana and Canada will need to have posted a minimum annual turnover of $30 million and rough utilization of $20 million for each of the past three years. Applicants for the South Africa sight should have recorded a turnover of $15 million and rough utilization of $10 million in 2010, while in Namibia, they should be able to demonstrate a turnover of $10 million and utilization of $5 million in 2010.
Varda Shine, DTC’s chief executive officer (CEO), stressed that companies will need to ensure that they have never bought, sold, imported or exported any diamonds outside the Kimberley Process (KP) system.
As part of the CPQ, applicants are required to state the type and value of the rough diamonds they seek, as well as the location where they will be participating. Borhanjoo emphasized the companies will need to show how they differentiate themselves from their competitors in terms of marketing, distribution and technical skills.
Borhanjoo explained that DTC would not know how many sightholders will be chosen until much later in the process, when it can assess how many companies have applied for various types of rough categories and measure that volume against the availability of rough coming through production.
Shine added that DTC would not be biased in favor of existing sightholders or type of business. “We are always looking to maintain a balanced portfolio in the types of companies who qualify to be sightholders,” she said.
Gokhran Plans to Sell $105 Million of Rough in 2011
Gokhran plans to sell precious metals and gems worth about $366 million (RUB 10.5 billion) in 2011. Interfax reported that the Russian state repository’s planned purchases total approximately $331 million (RUB 9.5 billion). It does not plan to buy diamonds or sell gold from its reserves.
Gokhran expects to realize about $105 million from the sale of diamonds this year, including $17 million from export sales. The remaining $261 million will come from the sale of precious metals, excluding gold, mainly on export markets, the source said. Gokhran purchased 3.4 tons of gold in 2010. – Additional reporting provided by Acquire Media.
Oppenheimer to Retire From Anglo’s Board
De Beers Group’s chairman, Nicky Oppenheimer, is retiring from the board of Anglo American after serving the company for 37 years. He will step down from his post as a nonexecutive director on April 21 at the conclusion of the mining giant’s annual general meeting.
“Anglo American has been in the psyche of every member of my family since the company was founded nearly a century ago,” said Oppenheimer, noting “There comes a time when it is right to stand aside and allow others to carry the baton.”
Diamdel Reports Strong Sales at February Auctions
Diamdel, the De Beers subsidiary that sells diamonds to the secondary market, reported “unprecedented demand” at its February diamond auctions, with 166 different companies submitting bids. Diamdel sold all 197 lots it made available and 68 different companies won lots.
Diamdel noted that sales to customers in Belgium and Israel rose to record levels. Nonsightholders bought 62 percent of the lots, while no individual buyer won more than 15 lots. Diamdel reported strong demand for all categories of diamonds on offer, with the highest buyer participation seen in the 2-carat-plus and small-range-stone categories.
According to Neil Ventura, the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), “Most indicators point to near-term demand conditions remaining very robust.”
Diamdel’s next auctions will be held on April 13 for near gem quality goods and on April 14 for 2-carat-plus sizes.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2011. To subscribe click here.