By: Amr Adel
Dubai – Mubasher: The annual volume of the diamond financing market in the UAE has reached AED 5.5 billion ($1.5 billion), said Davy Blommaert, the head of National Bank of Fujairah’s (NBF) precious metals and diamonds unit.
The total value of financing for diamonds was around AED 1.8 billion ($500 million) five or six years ago, Blommaert told journalists on the sidelines of the Dubai Diamond Conference 2017 on Monday.
During the last decade, the diamond sector saw an expansion as traders and manufacturers turned their focus from Europe to Africa and Asia, Blommaert continued.
Dubai utilised its strategic location in the New Silk Road and developed into one of the world’s essential hubs for the diamond trade, the top official added.
NBF is one in a small group of banks in the UAE that works in the financing of gold bars and precious metals, Blommaert noted, highlighting that this helped the bank enter the diamond financing market.
National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) entered the diamond financing market in 2015.
Translated by: Muhammad Abdulwakeel
