Antwerp diamond industry must work together to ensure continuing success
June 24, 2010
The Antwerp diamond industry, as we all know, is more than 500-years-old. It has survived wars and economic crises. Despite the huge destruction of the diamond sector in World War II, the city's diamond business built itself anew. The global economic crisis that we have all lived through in the last 18 months and the sharp fall in demand for diamonds and business being transacted had a huge impact, but we battled through.
Reflections on Antwerp Week at the Shanghai World Expo
June 16, 2010
If there’s one place in the world you can speak of a big picture, it’s most certainly Shanghai. There are many other cities that feature similar megalopolis features, of course, such as the massive number of skyscrapers and inhabitants per square meter, and the superlative economic characteristics, but Shanghai represents something else. It encapsulates the whole economic power and potential of China.
Will the global diamond market recovery be V-shaped, W-shaped, or L-shaped?
February 03, 2010
“If either rough prices or credit terms start diverging with the bottom line once again, we must keep our financial discipline and, above all, a level head... We need to be asking ourselves how much will polished prices actually follow through and then pare our expectations down with our rough purchasing and operate as if we were starting from zero.” – Kaushik Mehta, Chairman & CEO, Eurostar Diamond Traders.
New year brings new challenges but also hope for recovery
January 06, 2010
After a roller-coaster year in 2009, all of us, in every country and industry are wondering what the new year will bring. Although we are all feeling much more confident than we were 12 months ago, some people, nonetheless, have a nagging feeling that troubles could lay ahead in the first year of the new decade.
Diamond industry recovering, but problems remain
December 02, 2009
Not surprisingly, I was asked many times at the symposium how I see the state of the polished diamond market currently. My reply was that like a person who is suffering from the flu, the market is still weak, but we are glad to see that that there is a recovery, albeit a slow one.
Is the crisis over? A banker's perspective
September 20, 2009
Is there a real recovery in the diamond market, and have diamantaires learned the tough lessons from the sharp fall in demand as a result of the financial meltdown which struck a year ago? Unfortunately, I do not feel able to give a positive answer to either question yet.
Green shoots or simply weeds? The path towards industry recovery
July 20, 2009
Is the global economy, led by the United States, coming out of recession? Or are the so-called "green shoots" of recovery simply weeds, as some have suggested? Against the undercurrents of ongoing uncertainty, what should be the actions of members of the diamond industry?
Keeping a calm head through the financial crisis
June 29, 2009
In the present global financial crisis, we are all concerned about the effects it may have on our value chain. Although this is neither the first, nor the most serious, crisis our industry has faced, what makes this crisis different is the inexplicable speed of developments.
Hard times now – but the future is bright
May 10, 2009
I am not revealing a state secret if I say that the Belgian diamond industry is going through a tough period, and has been since the global financial meltdown began last September. Imports and exports of rough and polished are down significantly, and that is a blow to an industry that provides an income for 34,000 people in the city and its environs. The number of transactions is down, as is the number of buyers coming to the city, which is regarded as the most important diamond center in the world.
