Thought Leadership

Since 2011, polished diamond prices have steadily declined and profit margins in the mid-stream have all but disappeared. Furthermore, the introduction of new technology is about to revolutionise the industry. Automated manufacturing and grading are expected to cause major disruptions – radically changing the supply chain by shortening the manufacturing process, improving traceability and reducing costs.

Britain’s decision to leave the European Union was the beginning of the end of an era of unified political and economic purpose among European nations that began after the Second World War. Today, almost two years on from that decision, the actual end of that era is not much closer, political chaos and economic turmoil prevail, and the only certainty surrounding Brexit at this point seems to be uncertainty.

Some might see technology as a new mass market consumer product, or maybe an investment opportunity with promising upside potential. Not here.

What will be the impact for consumers, businesses and trade when UAE implements VAT at 5% on 1 January 2018? The introduction of a goods and services tax (GST) in India on 1 July 2017 prompted similar questions. Will these taxes mean that consumption will take a big hit?

Food security has emerged as a growing concern in many parts of the world, with a rapidly growing population, development challenges and climate change. DMCC’s report seeks to underline the need for stakeholders across the supply chain to adapt and address these concerns, as well as identify benefits and opportunities.

Markets, and the companies that operate in them, abhor uncertainty. As such, it is only natural that in an environment where currency valuation, customs and excise, rules and regulations and even access to your customer base could change from one day to the next, companies – particularly small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) – are beginning to seek other options to a UK base.

Stemming the flow of illegal ‘conflict diamonds’ in international trade was massively boosted by the Kimberley Process (KP), established in 2000. This rigorous, UN-backed compliance system stands to become even more effective using Blockchain – a proven, distributed database trading technology that creates permanent, encrypted, tamper-free records.