Registration Starts For 2017 Presidents Meeting and Finance Seminar

(IDEX Online) – The official web site of the 2017 Presidents Meeting and Finance Seminar has gone live, allowing participants to register for the February 5-8 biennial gathering of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA).

The four-day gathering, organized by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and the Bharat Diamond Bourse, will take place at the Taj Lands End Hotel in Mumbai, starting with committee meetings of the WFDB and IDMA on February 5. There will then be a major industry Finance Seminar before the Presidents Meeting continues with further gatherings of WFDB and IDMA Presidents. The Presidents Meeting will also serve as the starting point for the WFDB's year of celebrations for its 70th anniversary.

WFDB President Ernie Blom says the Finance Seminar will be the most wide-ranging on the topic that the diamond industry has ever held since the topic is critical for the health of the trade. "We have invited experts from the banking and finance community, as well as industry stakeholders to participate and provide crucial input," said Blom.

"The aim is not to provide another talking shop event, but an in-depth look at the financing problems the industry faces and proposing real financing solutions. This is a particularly acute problem for the small and medium-size diamond companies which constitute the vast majority of our membership. Diamantaires now have to deal with a wide range of financing obstacles as the banks incorrectly regard the diamond trade as high risk.

"There are many issues to be tackled, and I look forward to extremely interesting and challenging discussions. We aim to establish a regular dialogue between banks and other providers to develop solutions for the diamond industry, and create a financing task force to drive forward solutions. We also seek to create online education courses for all members of WFDB affiliated diamond bourses, and roundtable discussions to be held in all the leading diamond centers. This Summit will play a critical role so we ask members of all trade organizations to attend," Blom added.

Registration can be carried out at: http://www.presidentsmeeting2017mumbai.com