NamGem Closes Deal With Lazare Kaplan

The board of NamGem, De Beers’ Namibia polishing plant, decided to pick Lazare Kaplan International as a partner in the struggling plant. NamGem says today that Lazare Kaplan “is able and willing to commit considerable financial, technical and human resources to NamGem”.

NamGem, established in 1988 and a wholly owned subsidiary of Namdeb - in turn equally owned by De Beers and the Namibian government, has been seeking a technical and marketing partner since June of this year.

The company said that despite favorable government policies, low margins and high competition coupled by the steady rise in the value of the South African Rand and Namibian Dollar over the past two years resulted in a strained bottom line.

Based on advice from an independent consultant, a short list of seven sightholders was selected to receive tender documents inviting them to submit their plans for a NamGem partnership. Six of these un-disclosed prospective bidders visited the Okahandja factory.

Based on the bids, NamGem eventually selected Lazare Kaplan, one of the few diamond cutting companies in the world whose shares are publicly traded on a major stock exchange. 

Lazare Kaplan is expected, among other, to upgrade the skills of the factory's workforce.

NamGem has criticized the Namibian government for not subsidizing the diamond polishing plant, saying it was “opposed to the use of taxpayer funds, directly or indirectly, to subsidize the industry”.

NamGem described the selection process for a partner as “an objective, transparent competitive selection process”, looking for prospective partners possessing “the right mix of expertise, vision and commitment relevant to the specific size, quality and other characteristics of NamGem's production”. 

J V Mazeingo, Chairman Of NamGem, said in a press a release that joining forces with one of the strongest diamond cutting firms in the world is good news for the factory's workers, adding that there is no contemplation whatsoever of any workforce reductions.