RAPAPORT... Members of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) will be electing six representatives to its board of directors June 17 to 18, the first election for the trade group since it was formed two years ago. AWDC’s second anniversary is also being seen as an opportunity to assess the performance of the current board, along with the effectiveness of the new organization in promoting Antwerp’s diamond interests.
Who Can Vote?One representative of each company can vote in categories based on their company’s trade turnover. Each of the three categories will elect two representatives. The 40 companies with turnover in excess of 100 million euros— approximately $160 million — are group 1, the 100 companies with turnover between 30 million and 100 million euros — $50 million to $160 million — are group 2 and the 700 companies with turnover between 500,000 and 30 million euros — $785,000 to $50 million — are group 3.
Who Can Run?
Basically, any registered diamantaire can run for the board positions. A change in the bylaws approved by the AWDC Standing Committee on April 23 specifies that if a diamantaire represents several companies, he is to vote in the highest category. For example, the owner of a company with turnover above $160 million and a second company with turnover of, say, $80 million, will be allowed to vote only in group 1. The purpose of the measure is to prevent big players from being elected in lower categories. When that happened in the past, it led to allegations of unfair representation for the smaller companies.
Assessing Performance So Far“While these elections are not a novelty anymore, there are still a lot of issues that need to be addressed,” said André Gumuchdjian, president of the Belgian Association of Traders of Polished (BVGD). “Small and medium enterprises feel that the AWDC operates behind closed doors and that there is little information or real transparency as to what is going on or what initiatives are undertaken. While some efforts have been made by the AWDC, much more needs to be done.”
In defense of the AWDC, Philip Claes, AWDC spokesman said: “We did a lot to improve our communication. For example, we’ve organized two major information sessions. The sad thing was that only a handful of people showed up. Furthermore, we’ve written letters to the boards of all the organizations, asking them to invite us to come and explain what we’d achieved so far. Only one among the twelve answered: the BVGD. Consequently, we came and the members had the opportunity to ask all the questions they wanted and to get answers. If there’s one thing that did improve over the past two years, it’s most certainly transparency.”
As far as the future is concerned, Claes remains optimistic. “The legislation that is currently pending before the parliament is essential for Antwerp,” he said, referring to the proposal to limit the ability of legal authorities to seize and hold companies’ diamond inventories while fraud investigations are underway. “The legislation is, of course, a political matter and we’re discussing it with the authorities, who do not always agree with the way we want to change things,” said Claes.
Shashin Choksi, board member of BVGD and Indo Belge Diamantaire Association (IBDA), had only good things to say about AWDC. “This center has brought a lot of wealth, prosperity and peace to all communities! The political stability in this ‘World Diamond Center’ is incomparable!” “In almost all centers in the world, one sees an ample number of young people entering the market,” continued Choksi. “They are the future! In Antwerp, there are almost no young people, except for the Indians. With the innumerable experienced diamantaires Antwerp has to offer, we are in a position to surmount most, if not all, challenges. With the uncertainty the rough diamond trade is facing while the new marketing systems get in place, there are no guarantees ahead. Here, again, Antwerp is in good position if the challenges are tackled properly. I personally believe that this election should not be a community voting against each other. Rather, it should be an election in which the best-qualified candidate should win in each category.”
Bharat Shah, board member of the Belgian Association of Traders of Rough (VHRD), admitted recent problems. “The past two years have been very difficult times,” he said. “First, the stock revaluation scheme took lots of discussions with authorities to eventually see it through. The second major concern is that of the various raids and stocks being taken away, which is an issue that we’re all still busy dealing with. Apart from that, the whole restructuring in itself had to take place. Splitting the HRD into two independent bodies, filling the vacancies and structuring them financially has required lots of important issues to be addressed quite efficiently by the board members. If many of these moves appear to have been done behind a curtain, people must understand that the actions are not intended to be secrets. It’s just that there are so many things to attend to that it sometimes becomes difficult to release every little detail of the process in real time. The AWDC board members have made a very real effort to work as a team.
The Marketplace
• Generally, pointers are holding steady, especially in better quality of VS+,
H+, where prices are firm. SI goods are quite stable, but demand is
weaker.
• Prices of 5 carat+ round in better-quality VS1+, G+, have increased by
an average of 6 to 7 percent, sometimes up to 10 percent, which has
caused some price resistance in the past month. Buyers appear to be
holding off on purchases.
• U.S.-type piqué goods are reported to be quieter across the board in
recent months.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - June 2008. To subscribe click here.