Glittering Stones News,Diamonds news,Gems and jewelry news

SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank said Thursday that blooming trade with China has overshadowed the value of India as an equally profitable market with better long-term prospects.
India accounts for about five percent of the world’s gross domestic product after a decade of financial reforms, the Reserve Bank of Australia said, adding that the industrialising country’s population was estimated to rise gradually.
“While much attention has been paid to the fact that China has become Australia’s largest trading partner, less awareness has been paid to the fact that India has also become an important destination for Australia’s exports,” a quarterly bulletin said. “In 2009, India ranked as Australia’s third largest export destination from being 15th in 1999, surpassing Australian’s more traditional destinations such as the United Kingdom and the United States.”
Gold, coal, education and copper were among Australia’s top exports to India, while the biggest imports contain electrical parts, information technology and pearls and gems, the RBA said.
Australia recorded a trade surplus with India of 15.5 billion dollars (14.5 billion US) in 2009, second only to its extra with long-standing partner Japan. The RBA said the population of India, distinct that of China and other Asian countries, was expected to grow steadily, with the United Nations projecting it would become the world’s most crowded nation in the next 20 years. “India’s long-term economic growth is likely to benefit from a working-age population that is estimated to grow until at least the middle of this century, unlike countries such as Japan, South Korea and China”.
Globally, the RBA said India’s share of trade had tripled in the past 20 years to 1.5 percent, underpinned by strong output of processed petroleum goods to the United Arab Emirates. “Prospects for enlargement over coming years have improved noticeably.
“Strong growth in India is also expected to see a deepening of the bilateral trade relationship between Australia and India.” The bank added that foreign ownership of Australian shares and bonds had also soared during the global financial disaster, with offshore investors now accounting for about 50 percent. It said foreign investors had been concerned by Australia’s financial stability backed by a strong banking sector.

India is the world’s largest manufacturer of diamonds, is taking steps to move insistently into the procurement of roughs by setting up its own syndicates. Over 120 years after De Beers, the global diamond group, set up its own middle selling organisation, India’s diamond city of Surat, which cuts and polishes nine out of 11 of the world’s diamonds, is seeking to assurance its own supply of the raw material. Surat Diamond Sourcing India has been recognized to source diamonds directly from mining firms across the globe.
For five decades Indian diamond industry players in have been buying roughs at sale at major global trading hubs such as Belgium and Israel. Antwerp, where 80 per cent of all rough diamonds and 50 per cent of all cut diamonds are handled, is where more than half of Surat’s diamonds are bought at auction while the rest are sourced from major diamond companies.
India has had strong links with De Beers, Alrosa, the Russian diamond producer, and BHP Billiton, the resources group, who all act as middlemen.
Four years after Diamond India Limited was set up to unify India’s 58 most important diamond and jewellery manufacturers and exporters, Surat Diamond Sourcing India has been set up as a consortium of 500 small, medium and large units out of the 4,500 in service in the city.
With an initial capital of around $220m in its reach, the company has decided to source rough stones directly from mines in Africa, Russia, Canada and Australia. While larger manufacturers and dealers have put $230,000 each into the kitty, smaller companies have invested around $115,000.
India currently controls around 85 per cent of global volumes and 70 per cent of value and it is hoped that the move will broaden India’s influence over the industry. But as India tries to assert its nationalistic authority on a world stage, it doesn’t look like there will be any significant power shift away from the big players.
India’s export share in the world market is estimated to double by 2015 from its current level of 20 per cent, as a result of high demand from China, Hong Kong and regions such as the Middle East, South East Africa, the US and Canada, which are home to huge records of the Indian diaspora.

The diamond market has improved from the global decline, according to Petra Diamonds, with prices close to the level they were in June 2008. And the Petra’s sales income rose 88 per cent to $177.7 million in June 2010 compared to $94.4 million in June 2009 due to the extension of the recovery in rough diamond process and enlarged group production. Gross production rose six per cent to 1.165 million carats at the same time as diamond sales rose 11 per cent to 1.125 million. The compact has a momentous stake (about 75 per cent) in Tanzania’s Williamson diamond mine. The rest (about 25 per cent) is held by the Tanzanian Government.

According to the firm’s website the Williamson mine, based in Mwadui, Shinyanga region posted an inspiring revenue sales increase of 53 per cent in the year ending June 2010 to $14.4 million from $9.4 million in the same period in 2009. Diamonds shaped increased by 20 per cent to 101,071 carats from 84,486 carats in June 2009. Diamond sold improved by 22 per cent to 91,901 carats in June 2010 from 75,045 carats. The average price was $157 per carat in the year finish June 2010 up from $126 per carat in the year ending June 2009.

As prices fell in the economic year 2008/09 the Tanzania government exempted all gemstones mining companies, including Petra Diamonds from paying royalties. The country charges about five per cent royalty for gemstones. Petra said, in spite of recovery the market landscape has changed – possibly forever. Previously, the US was the world’s most important market for gems, but Asia is now attractive more important to the production.

Asia is “more than taking up the relaxed from the US,” according to Mr Johan Dippenaar, Petra’s chief executive. Evidence of China‘s new significance was seen by the new purchase of the outstanding 507 carat Cullinan Heritage diamond for $35.3 million (£23.3 million) by Chow Tai Fook, a leading Chinese jeweller. The Cullinan mine shaped a more seven stones over the year to June 30 that were sold for in overload of $1 million each.

The group thinks that price of irregular diamonds may ease lower over coming months, before increasing towards the Christmas period. Petra Diamonds is a leading supplier of rough diamonds, with a major reserve base of 262 million carats. The mine frequently produces large, high-quality stones and is a resource of rare and exceptionally valuable fancy pink diamonds.

China is the best place to go. This is the new motto of India’s diamond jewellery majors. Even though the China Govt. Last year arrested around 30 Indian diamond traders, mostly from Surat, the tempt of business is forcing Indian diamond jewelers to rush to the socialist land. In the past some days several Indian companies have set up shop there, which helped them rush over the fall in demand from the US market due to economic downturn.

Another reason is driving Indian diamond jewellery firms to go to China is that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted a 10.5 per cent financial growth for China in 2010. That means people in China will have lots of money to expend in the coming years. So, Indian diamond traders are locating up shop in China to big business from the dragon land. The newest to join this rush is Gitanjali Gems, which has announced plans for a venture into China. The investment fund is $3.5 million.

Gitanjali is situates to open 550 stores in India by the end of the economic year, as it seeks to push demand here. The jewelry exporter also announced plans to spend $85 million in the next 18 months to enlarge its retail business in India and the overseas markets. Demand for gold jewels studded with diamonds was rising at 15% to 25% for the last three years in China. India, the world’s main purchaser of gold, financial records for over 20% of global demand. The company feels that Chinese consumers need to be broken in the same manner as Indians. Earlier, platinum metal was the hero. Now, the amount of the diamond market in China is almost double that of India.