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of the diamond industry, ABN Amro Bank says it cannot support the country’s mining sector in view of the ‘restrictions’.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the Dubai Diamond Conference, Mr Kurt Looyens, senior vice-president, chief strategist and global head of business development of the Dutch state-owned bank, said diamond trade was ‘very sensitive business’, adding that as long as the EU ‘restrictions’ remained in force, ABN Amro would not consider venturing into Zimbabwe.
“We are a European bank. We cannot go against Europe,” he said, when asked by The Herald whether ABN Amro had any plans to establish a branch in Harare.
ABN Amro, which is headquartered in Amsterdam, ventured into neighbouring Botswana three years ago, establishing an offshore banking unit known as ABN Amro Botswana Limited. Through this Botswana unit, the banking giant hopes to create a ‘regional hub’ in diamond and jewellery trade.
With western-aligned financial institutions dancing to the tune of their anti-Zimbabwe governments, the second biggest financier of diamond trade in the world, Standard Chartered Bank, flatly refused to entertain questions from The Herald.
Mr Kishore Lall, the managing director and global head of diamond and jewellery banking at Standard Chartered, responded curtly: “Please don’t record me” when The Herald switched on a voice recorder on the sidelines of the conference.
British-owned Standard Chartered is one of the foreign-owned banks accused of resisting Zimbabwe’s indigenisation and economic empowerment law.
Mbada Diamonds, Marange Resources, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe are hampered by the US and EU sanctions and have had their millions of dollars confiscated by the Western governments. This is despite Zimbabwe’s full certification to export gems under the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
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The chairman of Mbada Diamonds, Dr Robert Mhlanga, told the conference that access to funding and the free movement of funds were “the lifeblood” of the diamond industry.
“From a producers’ point of view, our part is to make sure that we produce and supply enough product to an insatiable industry that continues to grow and expand exponentially. In order for us to improve global trade, we need partnerships.
“Partnerships that lead to free diamond trade which is complemented by fair diamond pricing,” he said.
Dr Mhlanga implored the stakeholders in the global diamond industry to create sustainable partnerships.
“The entire industry depends on our ability to understand our interdependence not only within our value chain but also encompassing our associate stakeholders such as our bankers and financiers.
“The sustained success of our industry means the sustained success of our financial markets and immediate economies as well. Access to funds and the movement of funds is the lifeblood of this industry and filters back to each stakeholder as increased value and opportunity for further business expansion, from the producer right up to the jeweller who sells the final product,” said Dr Mhlanga.
He noted that the world diamond industry was undergoing a historic transformation, with the centre of gravity shifting to Africa, the Middle East, India and China.
“As players participating in that shift, we should foster a concerted effort towards establishing ourselves as the centre of diamond trading. To date, Dubai has indeed become the link between Africa and the rest of the diamond industry right up to the consumer,” said Dr Mhlanga.
Zimbabwe has been supported by the pivotal business structures that Dubai has established. The emirate is now one of the top four diamond trading centres together with Mubai in India, Shanghai in China and Antwerp in Belgium. In 2002, Dubai transacted diamonds worth US$5 million, but in 2011 that figure had increased to US$39 billion.
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Online Reporter