Dubai Launches Diamond Exchange as WDC Kicks Off Annual Meet

The Dubai Metals and Commodities Center today (Monday) launched the region's first diamond bourse – the Dubai Diamond Exchange.

The launch coincides with the start of the three-day annual meeting of the World Diamond Council (WDC) being hosted by the DMCC.

Supporting the launch of the exchange were Eli Izhakoff, Chairman of the WDC, and Ernest Blom, Vice-President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.

Tawfique Abdullah, CEO of the DMCC, said the Dubai Diamond Exchange would aid efforts to establish Dubai as an emerging high quality diamond center.

He said the establishment of the local exchange bourse was the vital initial stage of the final aim of securing membership of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.

The diamond sector was the quickest growing element for the DMCC, Abdullah said. In addition, the WDC discussions, set to start in Dubai on Tuesday, together with the opening of the Dubai bourse would give a boost to the diamond trade.

The diamond exchange will eventually be based in the DMCC complex and will serve a center for the many domestic and international firms expected to establish operations by 2005.

In the meantime, the bourse will be based near Dubai's international airport and will start operating next April.

The DMCC was established two years ago as part of the Dubai government’s goal of creating a commodity market, and serves the gold, diamond and commodities markets.