Shanghai formally opened its long-awaited diamond exchange yesterday, part of a plan to boost China's diamond processing industry and strike a blow against smuggling.
At a ceremony attended by government officials from Shanghai and Beijing as well as industry movers and shakers from around the world, Shanghai's Communist Party chief Huang Ju unveiled a plaque, ushering in the exchange for the trading of uncut and processed diamonds.
A domestic exchange, initially suggested by members of the active Israeli diamond industry, was more than five years in the making. The State Council cleared the way for the project in February.
'This is a show of confidence in Shanghai,' said Mayor Xu Kuangdi, speaking at the ceremonies attended by more than 200 foreign and local guests, including diamond industry executives from Israel, Belgium, the United States, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore.
Although China produces a tiny amount of diamonds, it has a fast-growing market for finished and semi-finished products.
China's diamond sales reached 2.7 billion yuan (about HK$2.52 billion) last year, according to ceremony officials, and the market has been averaging annual growth of 30 per cent in recent years.
China already has about 15,000 people employed in the diamond processing trade, most of them in Shanghai, Guangdong, Shandong and Fujian.
