Monday 30 June 2014

QUOTE OF THE DAY - 30th June 2014

“We have urged the finance ministry to either increase the capital base of the ECGC or ask insurance regulator Irda to allow domestic insurers to open up to the sector.”

Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC


QUOTE OF THE DAY - 30th June 2014

"Costly rough diamonds and costly imports have squeezed profit margins in the past few months."

Dinesh Navadia, President, Surat Diamond Association (SDA)

Indian Govt may cut 2% import duty on gold in budget: BoAML

The union government is expected to cut two per cent import duty in gold in the forthcoming budget, as local jewellers run out of inventory, a leading US brokerage said here. read more

After sluggish Q1, diamond traders eye shiny days

Even as the country’s polished diamond exports declined in the first two months of the current fiscal, the diamond industry is pinning its hopes on the forthcoming budget for a boost to its business. read more

Senco Gold eyes up to 60% revenue growth by FY17

Gold jewellery retailer and exporter Senco Gold is eyeing up to 60 per cent growth in revenue to over Rs 2,000 crore in next three years following plans to add around 25 stores read more

Annual banking summit: GJEPC urges to increase the capital base of the ECGC

The second Diamond, Gem and Jewellery Banking Summit 2014, organized by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), was successfully held on June 28, 2014 in Mumbai. read more

IPL betting has become a pastime for some in the diamond industry: Dinesh Navadia

The local diamond industry is bracing itself for the after effects of betting in Indian Premier League (IPL).Diamantaires fear increase in payment default cases in the diamond markets read more

SA miners quit World Gold Council

Gold Fields quit the World Gold Council to save money. AngloGold Ashanti, the world’s third-biggest producer of the metal, also left the organisation.

Gold Fields’ decision was ‘purely a cost issue,’ spokesman Willie Jacobsz said by phone.  Members pay per ounce of metal produced and with all the cost-cutting we’ve seen, especially here at Gold Fields, we’ve had a look very carefully at our membership of all sorts of organisations around the world.’

AngloGold spokesman Stewart Bailey couldn’t be reached for comment. The WGC is the gold industry’s market-development organisation and its members include Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining, the largest producers.

The council ‘regrets’ the departures, it said today in an e-mailed statement. ‘We thank them for all their support and hope that there will be an opportunity in the future to welcome them back.’

AngloGold and Gold Fields have been slashing costs in the past year as they seek to adjust to a gold price that has fallen 21 per cent since the beginning of last year.

Gold Fields chief executive Nick Holland led the council to adopt so-called all-in cost reporting for miners last year to give investors a better understanding of producers’ profit margins and help them compare performance.

Such expenses exceed traditional cash costs because they include outlays such as capital spending, administration and exploration.

Courtesy: Business report 

VBJ e-commerce venture sets eyes on China foray

Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers (VBJ) scion Amarendra Vummidi said that company’s new e-commerce venture would serve as the vehicle for an eventual foray into China, a market whose margins far outstrip that of India.  read more

Saturday 28 June 2014

India’s No.1 Jewellery Magazine is also the online market leader.


Readers Response: Favourable market sentiments- Vishal Jain

Understanding the sentiments of the customers attached to the metal, every year it becomes necessary to launch a range of gold dominated jewellery line keeping the market trend in mind. There was a short phase when diamonds dominated the trends however; gold dominant designs are now in fad.

Vishal Jain

Director
Zahav Jewels
Mumbai

Readers Response: Impressive content- Ankur Rungta

It is good to find a magazine which deals with such a wide range of subjects and presents the gem and jewellery industry with a fresh approach. I really like the wide variety of information given in your magazine. It always carries articles in which I am greatly interested that doesn’t seem to be available elsewhere.

Ankur Rungta
Director
KKM Gold
New Delhi

Readers Response: Customer protection- Kirit Zaveri

While there has been a significant increase in adoption of hallmarking on jewellery, the practice is currently limited primarily to organized players, thereby exposing customers to risks related to quality and undercaratage.

Kirit Zaveri
Proprietor
Soni Bachubhai Zivabhai
Ahmedabad

Readers Response: Time to change- Sanjay Golank

The gem and jewellery industry has been working under tight regulations from the last one year. We expect the new government to pursue a reform agenda which could roll back policies introduced by the outgoing administration and try to lower the import duty that has blocked the movement of gold in the country.

Sanjay Golank
Director
Sadhana Gold
Mumbai

Readers Response: Comprehensive article on jewellery technology- Narayan Santosh Kudtarkar

The Art of Jewellery’s April 2014 issue was something I waited for years from the first letter I wrote to you to educate the jewellers on technology. Even though it was late, but I was very happy to see the vastness of subjects you covered in this issue. The ERPs, Customization, the users reviews and new technologies like using ipad or tab to leverage store performance was very novel and something I was looking for a long time. I have got the leads on various softwares and security solutions.

Narayan Santosh Kudtarkar
Proprietor
Sri Shantadurga Jewellers
Gadag, Karnataka

Friday 27 June 2014

QUOTE OF THE DAY - 27th June 2014

“Diamond markets seasonally slow as US summer vacation period approaches.”

Martin Rapaport, Chairman, Rapaport Group


QUOTE OF THE DAY - 27th June 2014

“With the CAD coming under control, there are a lot of expectations from the newly formed BJP led government. Initially, they can reduce the import duty and continue with the 80:20 rule with slight modification which would gradually increase the imports of gold through official channels and give impetus to ailing bullion industry of India.”

Sachin Kothari, Director, BullionIndia.in


Actor Irrfan Khan launches Abaran’s Platinum Collection for Men

Speaking of his fascination for Platinum, Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan unveiled Abaran’s new season’s collection for men along with Pratap Kamath, MD, Abaran Timeless Jewellery Pvt Ltd., ream more

Shanghai may launch international gold exchange in FTZ

Shanghai may launch an international trading board for gold in the China (Shanghai) pilot Free Trade Zone this quarter. The new trading board in the FTZ is expected to attract foreign participants as China hopes to have read more

GJEPC organises Diamond, Gem and Jewellery Banking Summit on 28th June

With Indian and overseas banks taking a cautious approach to lending to diamond companies, including De Beers sightholders and clients of Alrosa and Rio Tinto due to rising number of loan defaults in Surat, Mumbai and Antwerp, read more

Tara Jewels to close three retail stores; Focus on high-margin diamond jewellery

In a bid to consolidate its retail business, jewellery maker company Tara Jewels will shut down its three 'less-profitable' stores and focus more on high-margin diamond jewellery segment. read more

www.artofjewellery.com India’s No.1 Jewellery Magazine is also the online market leader.


China's May gold imports from Hong Kong drop to 16-month low

China's gold imports from Hong Kong dropped in May to the lowest level since January last year as a weaker yuan curbed appetite for the precious metal in the world's largest consumer. read more

Luk Fook's FY revenue up 43%, profit up 50%

Hong Kong-based jeweller Luk Fook Holdings reported that revenue rose 43 per cent year on year to US $2.478 billion (HKD 19.214 billion) in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2014. read more

Thursday 26 June 2014

QUOTE OF THE DAY - 26th June 2014

“BIS is making concerted efforts to create awareness for all stakeholders for the benefit of consumers. BIS is hopeful to take along all Jewellers and Hallmarking Centres to implement the Unique Identification system so as to ensure effective consumer protection.”

Sunil Soni, Director General, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)


QUOTE OF THE DAY - 26th June 2014

"I welcome SGL’s move to open two gem testing labs  at two strategic locations in Kolkata. I also believe SGL will not compromise on the quality of testing for the sake of commercial gain."

Bachhraj Bamalwa, Former Chairman, All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation, (GJF)



QUOTE OF THE DAY - 26th June 2014

"This is the first time we have come out with a single promotion for entire India and the Gulf countries to boost the demand during the rainy season."

Joy Alukkas, Managing Director, Joyalukkas Group


Turkey sells 200 tons of secret gold to Iran

As the minister in charge of Turkey’s US $800 billion economy in 2013, Zafer Caglayan was facing a series of numbers that didn’t bode well for coming elections. Inflation was up, read more

'Gold Fix' Reform Won't Happen Quickly: WGC

The World Gold Council on Wednesday said it doesn't expect an industry-wide meeting to reform the so-called gold fix to provide an immediate solution to trading in the precious metal, read more

Alrosa's 1Q revenue up 43%, profit falls 3%

ALROSA reported that revenue rose 43 percent year on year to $1.66 billion (RUB 56.3 billion) in the first quarter of 2014. Growth was driven by an increase in sales volume,  read more

Domestic gold rebounds on renewed demand from stockist and customers

Gold prices rebounded at the domestic bullion market today due to renewed demand from jewellery stockist and retail consumers. Moving with the general trend, silver also rallied supported by frantic speculative buying. read more

SGL opens two labs in Kolkata

London based Solitaire Gemmological Laboratories (SGL) launches its 9th location with two laboratories in Kolkata, the jewellery manufacturing centre of east India. With its laboratories in two locations in the city, read more

Platinum miners back to work in S Africa

Tens of thousands of South African platinum miners returned to work on Wednesday after wage deals ended the longest and most damaging strike in the country's history.  read more

Singapore and Shanghai seek gold-hub role as demand shifts east

Singapore will introduce a physical gold contract this year, while Shanghai starts international bullion trading, highlighting a push in the biggest consuming region to establish new price benchmarks as demand shifts east. read more

Wednesday 25 June 2014

QUOTE OF THE DAY - 25th June 2014



“The pre-budget meeting with the FM was positive.  He has assured us that he will not let the gem and jewellery industry suffer.”

Haresh Soni, Chairman, All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF)


AOJ EXCLUSIVE: Indian GJ industry will not suffer; FM assures GJF

All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) delegation met the finance minister Arun Jaitley with the recommendation and representation from the Indian gem and jewellery industry for the upcoming union budget. read more

GJEPC requests FM to restore the bank credit cycle to 180 days

A delegation of diamond traders and representatives of Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) met the Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley in New Delhi regarding the issues faced by the diamond traders. read more

Gold finance companies up; RBI allows them as banking correspondents

Shares of finance companies which provide loans against gold rally after the RBI on Tuesday allowed banks to engage non-deposit-taking non-banking finance companies as banking correspondents for financial inclusion. read more

Gold smuggling on rise, Chennai accounts for maximum cases

While India is seeing a steady increase in gold smuggling, a recent report of the Enforcement Directorate says that Chennai accounts for the maximum number of gold seizures in the country when compared to other cities. read more
The race to replace the London silver price fix appears to be heading into the home stretch as members of the London Bullion Market Association now have to revaluate seven different presentations to find out which one will get the official nod. read more

Singapore to start gold contract as world demand shifts east

Southeast Asia’s biggest bourse operator, will introduce a wholesale kilobar gold contract as the city-state seeks to increase its share of the $18 trillion industry. The contract for 25 kilograms of 99.99 percent purity may start as soon as September, read more

HK June Jewelry Show fails to boost sales

Trading at the June Hong Kong Jewellery and Gem Fair, which took place between June 19 and 22, came in below expectations as the event failed to boost sales during the traditionally slow period of the year. read more

Russian rough diamond exports shoot up in Q1

New figures released by the Russian Finance Ministry point to an increase in the sum of exports of rough diamonds from the country and a decrease in the already paltry sum of imports of said stones, Rough and Polished reports. read more

Reader’s Reaction to ‘UID for hallmarking: Blessing or a Curse?’ (The Art of Jewellery, June 2014 Issue- Cover Story)

Such steps would only discourage jewellers to not apply or renew their existing licences. It would create a huge gap within the industry as not every jeweller can easily afford to pay such high enrolment fees for a legitimate practice. This would lead to opportunism by the affluent jewellers and disrupt the coexistence of smaller businesses (which have been the backbone of our industry).

Vinay Agarwal
Partner
Ratiwant Jewellers
Bhopal

Reader’s Reaction to ‘UID for hallmarking: Blessing or a Curse?’ (The Art of Jewellery, June 2014 Issue- Cover Story)

"I happen to read about the UID scheme by the BIS in your June issue and I was very surprised by this tedious plan of the government. First of all, we have very few hallmarking centres in our country. Especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, most of the jewellers in these cities feel, it is difficult to get their jewellery hallmarked and therefore, rely less on marketing hallmarked Jewellery. It’s a very difficult Job for semi urban areas specially, where there is single hallmarking center for some three districts situated 100 kms away."

Narayan Kudtarkar
Managing Partner
Sri Shantadurga Jewellers
Gadag

Tuesday 24 June 2014

AOJ Flash News : Vipul Shah meets FM, no assurance on easing gold import norms.

With expectations running high from the first budget of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, a delegation of diamond traders and representatives of Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) today met the Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley in New Delhi demanding relaxation in various rules relating to gems and jewellery industry.
 
However, gold importers may feel disappointed as the Finance Minister remained reluctant to give any assurance on revisiting the much-troubled gold import's 80-20 rule, which allows only the nominated agencies to import gold on the condition that 20 per cent of the imported shipment will be exported.

"The Finance Minister didn't give any assurance to look into the Gold import issue. According to him, any change in that would create adverse impact on the Rupee. Hence, we did not get any positive response from him on this," Vipul Shah, chairman, GJEPC told reporter after meeting the Finance Minister on Tuesday. According to a section of traders, the rule adversely affected gold availability, resulting into smuggling of gold.

But, the Finance Minister assured the trade body and the diamond players to address other pressing demands.

"The burning issue for the diamond traders is the suppliers' credit cycle, which was earlier 180 days and reduced to 90 days in 2011. We have demanded to restore the credit cycle back to 180 days and the minister has assured us to look into it," Shah said.

The import payment credit limit was reduced from 120 days to 90 days by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2011. This posed a major challenge for the diamond traders. If the 90-day period got lapsed, then they would require to get permission from the RBI to make the payment which will further delay the process. Also, currency fluctuations during this period would result into additional burden along with the interest cost for diamond traders.

The delegation also demanded setting up of a special notified zone for diamond industry. This is aimed at facilitating the local diamond traders to source rough diamonds directly from the mining companies from their offices in this zone.

Many diamond mining companies including De-Beers, Rio Tinto, Alrosa are already lined up to start their offices in India. "But India's complex tax structure is a deterrent. If mining companies open their offices here, traders will easily get their raw material. Already 8-10 companies are lined up for setting up offices here," said Shah.

The delegation comprised of diamond merchants and representatives of Surat Diamond Association (SDA) and local MP, Darshana Jarosh besides GJEPC representatives.

Courtesy : The Hindu Business Line
 

QUOTE OF THE DAY - 24th June 2014

"Upcoming budget is expected to bring back the golden days for Indian GJ Industry by easing the import duty norms. Since IIJS 2014 is scheduled after budget, we are very positive with the show’s success."

Promod Mehta, Director Shilipi Jewellers Pvt Ltd




QUOTE OF THE DAY - 24th June 2014

"Barring events like Ukraine or Iraq we don’t see any long-term fundamental reasons out there that could push gold higher."

John Toohey, VP, USAA Investments


QUOTE OF THE DAY - 24th June 2014

"Surat is a major centre for diamond cutting and polishing in the world. There is a tremendous demand for qualified professionals in this industry."

Nirupa Bhatt,
MD, Gemological Institute of America (GIA)-India and the Middle East

GSI launches the Joy Box Campaign in Mumbai

Gemological Science International (GSI) has launched the Joy Box campaign in association with Each One Teach One (EOTO), a charitable foundation aimed at creating opportunities for underprivileged children in urban and rural India. read more

India is the Future of the Diamond Industry: Vipul Shah

Vipul Shah, the chairman of India's Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), discusses how business conditions and policies in India are changing. Additionally, he urges U.S. retailers read more

GIA trains a fresh wave of qualified professionals in Surat

GIA (Gemological Institute of America) hosted its Graduate Diamonds (GD) graduation ceremony on June 20 at Institute’s classroom at the Surat Diamond Association Premises in Varachha Road. read more

GJF organises Labham programme in Delhi

The All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF), the country's leading trade association of gems and jewellery, launched its educational programme called Labham in Delhi on 23rd June, 2014. read more

Gold euphoria won't last with Yellen's rally fading

After the biggest gold slump in three decades left investors heartbroken, they're following Taylor Swift's advice and never, ever getting back together. read more

Union Bank of India opens branch in Antwerp to fund diamond industry

Mumbai-based Union Bank of India has opened a branch in Antwerp to provide funding for diamond industry, Bloomberg reported. The bank has been supporting diamond firms with credit and loans for many decades. read more