Panama will open the first diamond bourse in Latin America in 2010

diamond-boursePanama open the first diamond bourse in Latin America in 2010 with the purpose of distributing these gemstones in the markets of the region, informed the Minister of Commerce and Industry of Panama, Roberto Henriquez.

“The big international diamond business, with shares of Italy, Israel, USA and Belgium, decided that Panama was the ideal location for a bag of diamonds, with which to market power throughout Latin America,” the minister told a press. The company Panama Diamond Exchange (PDE), the name by which is known to the local branch of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB, for its acronym in English) in this country, “to import rough diamonds and cut and and simply to be distributed in the markets, “he said.

With an investment of $ 300 million, the project, which will start operations early next year, will have a building “to accommodate all business” and a hotel to “secure the perimeter,” he noted the minister.

Henriquez also announced that Panama is going to join the Kimberley Process, established in 2000 by the Security Council United Nations to certify the origin of diamonds and prevent illegal trade.

“This process ensures that diamonds are not ‘blood diamonds’, obtained through the exploitation of labor and marketed outside the system,” added the minister, stressing that the goal of “the diamond bourse functioning within international standards.

The WFDB in October 2008 presented its first Latin American delegation, based in Panama, where trade could generate between five and ten billion dollars a year, Efe said the president of the PDE, Erez Akerman.

This federation, which has 29 sacks in the world, telling the Panamanian, and 15,000 members, was founded in 1947 with the aim of uniting the whole diamond merchants and other polished stones in a common market.

November 25, 2009  Tags: , , ,  Posted in: Educations

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