Panama's President to Launch Diamond Center

(IDEX Online News) – President Ricardo Martinelli of Panama will be the guest of honor at the launch of the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center in Panama in March.

He will join leaders of the international and Latin American diamond, jewelry and precious stones industries at the event in Panama City on March 17 and 18. It will be the first dedicated facility for the diamond, jewelry and colored stones trades in the region that includes South and Central America and the Caribbean.

Anchoring the new center will be the Panama Diamond Exchange (PDE), which was established as the first and only diamond bourse in Latin America, and which is recognized by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.

Among the industry leaders who have attendance are Eli Izhakoff, Hon. President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and of the World Diamond Council; Ernest Blom, President of the World Federation of the Diamond Bourses; Gaetano Cavalieri, President of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation; Avi Paz, President of the World Diamond Council; Shmuel Schnitzer, President of the Israel Diamond Exchange; Reuven Kaufman, President of the Diamond Dealers Club of New York; Moti Ganz, Chairman of the Israel Diamond Institute, and Ronnie Vanderlinden, President of the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of the United States.

"This is a real milestone event for the global diamond, jewelry and colored stone industries, and one that ranks in order of importance with the establishment of the trading centers in Shanghai and Dubai," said Izhakoff. "Just as they were catalysts for the dramatic growth of massive new markets, I am confident that the same will the case for Panama and Latin America."

PDE President Erez Akerman said: "Visitors to Panama will most definitely have their eyes opened. This is a country that is experiencing a substantial economic boom, largely as result of it serving as a hub and world access point for Latin America, which likewise has grown into a major world market force." The Panama Gem & Jewelry Center also has the support of the Panamanian government and parliament which views it as a "strategic asset", he added.

Construction has already begun on the first stage of the more than $200 million project, which will house the trading floor and offices of the diamond bourse, as well as extensive office space for companies. It is scheduled for completion and occupation by the fourth quarter of this year.

The second phase of the project will include the development of a high-rise tower, where the lower floors will include the offices and trading floor of PDE and a jewelry mall, and the upper floors will include offices of diamond, jewelry, colored gemstone, pearl and precious metals companies, as well as service providers.

The Panama Gem & Jewelry Center has received the strong support of the Panamanian government and parliament, which regard it as an economic project on national importance. Together with President Martinelli, who will be the guest of honor at the launch event, other ministers and political leaders will also attend the event.

To promote the establishment of the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center as the Latin American industry's primary trading hub, the Panamanian parliament recently passed legislation that recognizes the area of the PDE facility to be a Free Zone, where residents do not incur customs duties on goods traded within the center and they are exempt from paying corporate taxes. Panama also joined the Kimberley Process in 2013.

Latin America's diamond, jewelry and colored stone sector is currently estimated to be worth $8 billion in sales per annum, and its industry includes more than 11,500 jewelry outlets, in excess of 320 mining companies and almost 750 wholesalers of diamond, jewelry and colored stones.