DTC Invites Registration for 2012- 2015 Sight Contract

(IDEX Online News) - The Diamond Trading Company (DTC) has opened registration for the 2012-2015 Supplier of Choice (SoC) contract period, the company announced Tuesday morning. The DTC is inviting interested businesses to register online. 

Applicants must satisfy five mandatory requirements which will vary, to some degree, between the DTC and its partner DTCs in Botswana and Namibia:

1. A minimum level of total rough diamond purchases for each of the last three years (2008, 2009 & 2010). For Namibia DTC and DTC South Africa, the minimum level of total rough purchases is for 2010 only.
2. A minimum level of turnover for the applicant group for each of the last three years (2008, 2009 & 2010). For Namibia DTC and DTC South Africa, the minimum level of turnover is for 2010 only.
3. The applicant group must demonstrate its full compliance with De Beers Best Practice Principles (BPP).
4. The applicant must be able to provide consolidated or combined audited financial statements for 2010 (with 2009 comparatives) and 2009 (with 2008 comparatives) for its entire group.
5. The applicant and its key individuals have, since the inception of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) in January 2003, not purchased, sold, exported, imported or otherwise traded in rough diamonds without the full authority of, and in compliance with, the KPCS.

The minimum level of turnover and rough diamond utilization in 2008-10 vary depending on where the companies want to receive the Sight:

Canada: $30m annual turnover, $20m annual rough diamond utilization

Namibia: $10m annual turnover, $5m annual rough diamond utilization

South Africa: $15m annual turnover, $10m annual rough diamond utilization

Botswana: $30m annual turnover, $20m annual rough diamond utilization

London: $30m annual turnover, $20m annual rough diamond utilization

Kicking off the registration, the DTC is holding two webinars today (Tuesday) in which it outlines both its mandatory requirements for registration and what to expect from the forthcoming Contract Proposal Questionnaire (CPQ) process.

The deadline for registering is midnight, April 18. Registered businesses that meet the mandatory registration criteria will be invited to submit a CPQ between May 3 and July 7 2011.

“For the new SoC contract period, we are seeking diamantaires that operate to the highest professional standards and are best able to add sustainable value to, and drive demand for, the rough diamonds we sell,” said DTC CEO Varda Shine.

Shine stressed that to qualify as a DTC Sightholder, a company needs not to be the biggest, oldest or most famous business “but you must have a passion for being the best in whatever segment of the market you serve.”