The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) recently convened its first-ever WFDB Asia Summit Meeting in Hong Kong, with the specific aim to strengthen the organisation’s ties with its member diamond bourses in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.
In his opening statement WFBD president Avi Paz noted that Asia will soon be one of the world’s leading and most diversified markets for diamonds and diamond jewellery.
“One of the WFDB’s tasks is to make its members aware of changes in world markets and in particular to distribute essential information about the potential opportunities in Asia,” he said. “In order to do so, we need to improve communication in both directions.”
Paz said that China has significantly lowered its taxes for diamonds and that as a result, taxation issues were no longer a barrier for sustainable growth in the country. He said countries like Russia and Turkey should take note of how China has opened up its market.
“The lowering of barriers is an incentive for cooperation between the Chinese and foreign members. By exchanging information, the respective parties can benefit from the intimate market knowledge they have at their disposal. True, significant and profitable growth of the diamond markets can only be achieved by working together,” he said.