Official Launch of New HRD Bodies

The Hoge Raad voor Diamant, commonly known as the HRD, will be noting on Wednesday the official completion of its restructuring. The new structure will include separate commercial and non profit entities.

The HRD was restructured following a legislative change relating to corporate structure and board representation, as well as a demand by Belgium’s Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt who was critical of a legal and personal battle that threatened to paralyze the organization.

The body, the official representative of the Antwerp diamond industry, was broken into a private foundation and a commercial company. The foundation will be known as the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), and the commercial company as HRD Antwerp NV.

On May 30, both will be officially launched at a formal gathering followed by a reception.