The Hindu : Business / Briefly : Diamond bourse coming up in Mumbai

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Tuesday, Oct 09, 2007
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Diamond bourse coming up in Mumbai

Sandeep Joshi

NEW DELHI: India is soon going to have a modern diamond trading hub that will provide traders from India as well as abroad a single window operation facility and dedicated custom house to boost exports. “The Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), which will be one of the largest one of its kind facility in Asia, is coming up at the Bandra-Kurla Complex near Mumbai and is likely to become operational by this year-end,” said Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council Chairman, Sanjay Kothari, while talking to The Hindu.

The new BDB complex would help India emerge as an international trading centre for gems and jewellery, said Mr. Kothari. “Spread over 18 lakh sq. ft., the complex will have several facilities for diamond traders, including strong rooms, lockers, customs clearance facilities, national and international banks, freight services and other modern amenities required to carry-out day-to-day business. We hope to deal with over 30,000 people every day once the facility is operational.”

Being built at a cost of Rs. 950 crore and spread over 20 acres, the eight-tower complex would house close to 2,500 small and large diamond traders, while the security measures to be set up would be on a par with the ones prevailing in the global markets like Antwerp, said Mr. Kothari.

“The bourse is likely to contribute 90 per cent of the country’s diamond trading by facilitating Indian and overseas buyers and sellers of diamonds.

It aims at enhancing the already predominant position of the Indian diamond industry in the world as diamonds account for almost 70 per cent of the total exports of gems and jewellery industry,” he added.

Stating that the bourse would help boost India’s diamond exports and imports, Mr. Kothari said despite a sharp appreciation of the rupee, this fiscal Indian gem and jewellery exporters were likely to meet the $18.5 billion target, against last fiscal’s $17.2 billion.

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