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Antwerp conference to focus on supply shifts

October 11, 2007

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Antwerp, Belgium—The fourth Antwerp Diamond Conference, to be held from Oct. 15-16, will examine changes in the diamond industry now that the De Beers Group has moved from being a dominant single-channel player controlling the majority of rough supply in the market to managing around 45 percent of rough today.

"In less than a decade, the diamond industry has evolved from a single-channel supply industry into a multi-channel supply industry, and inevitably this is changing the rules of the game," Freddy J. Hanard, chief executive officer of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, the organizer of the Antwerp Diamond Conference, said in a statement. "The new situation requires all players to be on their toes because the diamond producers are considerably more market-driven. There understandably are a wide variety of rough-diamond sources, but supply is less predictable and price volatility more likely. It's a very different business environment to the one we were used to, and one that will be analyzed in depth by speakers at the conference."

Speakers at the event will include representatives from major diamond-mining companies such as De Beers Managing Director Gareth Penny, Diamond Trading Co. Managing Director Varda Shine, Alrosa President Sergey Vybornov, Rio Tinto Diamonds General Manager Jean-Marc Lieberherr and BHP Billiton Diamonds Marketing Director Chris Ryder. Middle-tier diamond-mining companies such as Gem Diamonds, Petra Diamonds and the Stornaway Diamond Corp. will also be represented at the conference.

Vybornov will bring a delegation of more than 30 people from Alrosa's senior management. The Russian company will host a reception for participants on Oct. 14, and Vybornov will address the conference on the morning of Oct. 16.

Alrosa has been moving to establish itself as a market force on par with De Beers. Last year, the company produced 18.7 percent of total rough supply by value. In addition, the company has invested heavily in the Angolan diamond industry and is looking for other opportunities in Africa. For years, the majority of its output has been sold to De Beers, but that arrangement is set to end in 2008.

Also involved in the conference is global transportation company G4S International, a Silver Sponsor of the event.

The two-day conference is being held at the Elisabethzaal of the Flanders Congress and Concert Centre on the Koningin Astridplein, adjacent to the city's diamond district. A charity gala dinner will take place at the Waagnatie on the evening of Oct. 15, in the presence of Princess Mathilde of Belgium and Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. President Johnson-Sirleaf and Sir Bob Geldof, Irish pop star and social activist, will deliver the keynote addresses at the gala dinner.

To register for the conference, visit its Web site, Antwerpdiamondconference.be.
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