DUBAI MULTI COMMODITIES CENTRE

Representative office to cater exclusively to ABN AMRO’s Diamond & Jewellery business in the Middle East

Dubai, UAE; 30 January 2012: The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (“DMCC”), the licensing authority for the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (“JLT”) Free Zone, announced today that ABN AMRO Bank’s International Diamond and Jewellery Group (ID & JG) has opened a Representative Office in the prestigious Almas Towers, headquarters of the region’s leading commodity centre. 

The International Diamond and Jewellery Group will provide commercial banking products and services for financing trade flows of rough and polished diamonds and jewellery.  ABN AMRO’s presence in Dubai will complement the company’s offices in key industry locations such as Antwerp, New York, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Japan and Botswana. 

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of DMCC, commented:

“DMCC since inception has maintained a strong relationship with ABN AMRO and it is our pleasure to welcome them to Almas Tower, the home of the UAE diamond trade.”

“Like DMCC, ABN AMRO has demonstrated extreme resilience and commitment toward the diamond industry during periods of economic challenges and the addition of such a high-calibre company to the DMCC community confirms the UAE’s importance as a significant global diamond hub.”

The Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) is an international diamond trading platform of global significance.  The Almas Tower is home to over 300 regional and international diamond and precious gems companies. At the heart of the trade, the DDE provides a complete service environment for everyone in the pipeline – from grading to shipping, from trading to networking.  In the first half of 2011, the total volume of diamonds traded in Dubai reached 206.1 million carats, which is a 57% increase over the 131 million carats traded in H1 2010. 

Rajiv Jain, Regional Head of ID & JG, commented:

“Our strong and unique global presence provides unequalled local market knowledge on a global scale. Our unique footprint provides a global and integrated coverage of the industry. ABN AMRO Bank has over 100 years’ experience in financing the diamond and jewellery industry, which paired with the global approach, has resulted in strong brand equity and client relationships. We would like to extend our thanks to DMCC for having given us this excellent industry platform and also thank DMCC’s Executive Chairman, Mr Ahmed bin Sulayem for his strong support”.

To commemorate the opening, DMCC and ABN AMRO held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Almas Towers.  Speaking on this occasion, Victor van der Kwast, Global CEO of ID & JG said:

“Diamond and Jewellery is a key business for ABN AMRO Bank and we are committed to the industry. Dubai is an important hub between African origin goods and the Asian market.  We are looking to grow our business by capitalising on this, along with the presence of many of our large global clients in Dubai.”

Following the 2008 takeover of ABN AMRO Bank in 2008 by Royal Bank of Scotland, the ID & JG business unit had temporarily continued to be a part of the Royal Bank of Scotland in Dubai.  The business separated on 9 December, 2011 and now operates again as ABN AMRO Bank.