Bharat Diamond Bourse, tipped to be the world's largest diamond bourse, expects to grow about 40-45% in terms of volumes in the next five years.
The nearly two-decade-old plan to relocate the diamond hub from Opera House in South Mumbai to a new location in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) is finally fructifying, and the bourse will be inaugurated on October 17. At present, trading of rough diamonds is carried out from three quarters Prasad Chambers, Panchratna Building and Shreeji Building, in Opera House.
The bourse aims to bring exporters, banks, customs officials and other investors under one roof, along with the 918 members of the old bourse already registered to trade.
The project's total cost would add up to about Rs 1,100 crore. Anoop Mehta, president, BDB said, "We expect the revenue growth to be about 10-15% annually for next five years from the current $27-28 billion on higher participation from diamond traders and a volume growth of about 40% in the same period. I am sure this initiative will put India on the international map at par with global peers." He further said, "We expect diamond traders from Israel and Belgium to start trading over here. We also expect primary producers to come and sell their produce in India."
The complex is set in over a 20 acre plot with the availability of 2,500 offices in addition to custom house and other service providers. The exchange has another 1,357 provisional members. The complex will have 12,000 square feet area (sq ft) for the customs department, 6,750 sq ft for clearing agents, a trading hall over 6,200 sq ft and 24,500 safe deposits vaults. The offices have been provisionally allotted to 2,275 companies, of which 918 are registered members. While 1.7 lakh sq ft has been given on rent, 1.38 lakh sq ft is still unallotted.
Mehta reckons, "India processes about seven in every 10 of the world's diamonds, and holds about 57 % of the diamond processing industry. The industry accounts for 70-75% of total diamond exports and employs 850,000 people, making it the largest cutting centre by value and number of employees."
The announcement regarding inaugurating the bourse was earlier made by Jyotiraditya Scindia, minister of state for commerce and industry, after inaugurating the 'International Diamond Conference Mines to Market 2010'.
Scindia lauded the contribution of the gems and jewellery industry in the country's exports, saying that the sector has achieved $29-billion exports during the financial year 2009-10.
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