Dubai Diamond Finance Seen Growing as Antwerp Loses Gem Lender
- National Bank of Fujairah started diamond finance 6 months ago
- Antwerp Diamond Bank closing to cut 11-12% of lending capacity
A row of natural diamonds, marked with a defined black line for the laser cutting process, sit on a work surface in Moscow.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Dubai’s diamond trade will grow as the Middle East emirate attracts dealers from the industry’s traditional hub in the Belgian port of Antwerp after one of the city’s main gem lenders closed, depriving buyers of needed financing, according to National Bank of Fujairah.
“Do we anticipate a big shift of rough diamond traders to Dubai?” Davy Blommaert, unit head for precious metals and diamonds at National Bank of Fujairah, said in an interview Sunday. “Yes, that we foresee,” he said at the lender’s office in Dubai.