The diamond market in 2010

According to De Beers, which still controls around 40% of the diamond market, the global diamond jewellery market grew 8% in 2010. The US, which accounts for 38% of demand, grew 7%.

India and China saw growth rates of 31% and 25% respectively and are expected to raise their share of global demand from 21% to about 40% by 2015. Bangladesh has also a rising demand for Diamond.
Supply is constrained. No major discoveries have been made for over 20 years, and De Beer's massive stockpiles, which it used to control the markets, were run down in 2005 (though Russia is believed to have substantial stocks).
Prices have firmed in line with demand, with Petra's recent tender prices up 6-8% up on last year. Longer term, prices depend on the health of the global economy and rising Asian demand.

Diamond plays

The big diamond producers are either unlisted (De Beers, Alrosa) or diamonds are a small part of their overall production (Rio Tinto, BHP). There is no shortage of smaller diamond miners on the London market, including Gem (LSE: GEMD), Namakwa (LSE: NAD) and Firestone (LSE: FDI), which all deserve a look.
Petra's attractions are its relative size, growth potential, and concentration in South Africa which is stable and conducive to efficient mining operations.
Downside factors are the operational and funding risks inherent in such ambitious growth, and volatility from the structural foreign exchange exposure (with costs in Rands and income on dollars).
At 174.5p its shares have nearly tripled in six months, and are trading on a forward P/E of 29. But that is based on consensus EPS for the year to June 2011 of 6.0 cents. Despite the recent dilution the forecast looks light against the half year EPS of 6.8 cents, and completion of the Finsch acquisition will transform the numbers.
A planned move to the main market will generate interest, and as a play on the diamond market the shares offer some diversification, so are well worth considering.

Petra Diamonds is seeing sparkling growth

Whether diamonds are forever, or just a girl's best friend, there is no doubting the economic power generated by their allure to the female of the species. Measured by value, some 80-90% of the world's production of diamonds is used for jewellery. Something like $10 billion per year in rough diamonds gets turned into retail sales of jewellery worth six or seven times as much.
Judging by the interim results for Petra Diamonds (LSE: PDL), there is no question of diamonds losing their sparkle. With constrained supply, a rebound in western demand, and a voracious appetite from the emerging middle classes of India, China & Bangladesh, diamond prices have recovered to above 2008's pre-recession levels.
That is good news for the diamond miners in general, and good news in particular for Petra, the largest pure play listed diamond miner.
Following a string of acquisitions, Petra has seven producing mines. Six of these are in South Africa, where it owns between 70% and 74% of each mine (together with various Black Economic Empowerment partners) and the seventh is in Tanzania, where it has a 75% interest alongside the government's 25%.
Production is dominated by the Cullinan mine, which yielded 80% of the half year's output of 582 thousand carats.

Finsch

Last month Petra agreed a $210m acquisition of South Africa's second-largest mine, Finsch, from De Beers. This will more than double Petra's current production of 1.3 million carats per year.
Finsch is an efficient mine which will diversify Petra's operations, and generate synergies from its close proximity to existing mines. It will add 48 million carats of un-mined resources to Petra's existing 261 Million carats, resulting in gross resources, at current diamond prices, of $38 billion.
The acquisition was financed from a placing of shares at 150p, raising $325m, with the balance being used for working capital and capital expenditure (capex). Despite the dilution, the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to net asset value per share and cash flow per share.
Petra has upgraded its ambitious growth targets and now aims to increase annual production to around 4 million carats by 2013/14, and over 5 million by 2018/19.

Results

The group's profit from mining activities tripled to $24.5m as the strength of diamond prices outstripped a 25% increase in Rand operating costs.
Production was down by 5% due to the cessation of working at the Williamson mine in Tanzania whilst its capacity is expanded. That and expansion at Cullinan were responsible for a $48m capex spend, dwarfing the $10m depreciation charge.
The company envisages spending $320m capex over the next six years, to be financed from operational cashflow. That looks a stretch target to me, and certainly not conducive to paying dividends.

Ghulam Ali night in Bangladesh

King of Ghazal his excelleny Ghulam Ali is coming to Dhaka to heal the "zakhmi zigar" 

by his outstanding ghazals on 10th February. He will perform at Bashundhara Convention Centre.  

Diamond World is the sponsor of the great event.

Indian diamond market to touch Rs1trillion in 5 years

Mumbai: The Indian diamond market is poised to grow at 20% annually to over Rs1trillion in the next five years on the back of improved demand, a top industry player said on Friday. “Demand for diamond jewellery is improving world-wide and people in India are buying more diamonds these days as it is a good mode of investment. The Indian diamond market is likely to grow at 20% to touch Rs. 1trillion in the next five years whereas gold will grow at 8-10% year- on-year,” Vivek Jain, chief executive of leading diamond retail chain Orra, told PTI in Mumbai.
At present, the domestic diamond market is pegged at Rs12,000 crore, Jain said, adding the total jewellery market in the country is worth Rs70,000 crore.
Orra, a part of the $1.8 billion Belgian Group Rosyblue, is poised to grow at 20% year-on-year, Jain said, adding it will be opening five large-format exclusive stores in the next three years at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
“We will open five large format stores (3,000 sq ft) in the next three years at an investment of Rs70 crore. We will be raising funds through the private equity route by August this year. The process has already started and we have shortlisted three investors,” Jain said.
The company, that has 30 stand-alone stores across 20 cities in India, exports diamonds to 15 countries including neighbering Bangladesh, the largest market being the US.
According to Jain, the economic downturn in the US has not affected Orra from a price point of view. The company is expecting a double-digit growth in its exports to the US in the current year.
Jain also said the company’s same-store sales rose by 30%t month on month.

Diamond World Salutes all the Martyres of Liberation War

Diamond World Salutes all the Marty res of Liberation War of Bangladesh, Freedom Fighters,
Indian Army who help us to fight against our enemy and to people who suffered and support in
the war in the moment of 40th Victory Day of Bangladesh. Here is an article for our well wishers
and clients on this special occasion.

BANGLADESH LIBERATION ARMED FORCE

Mukti Bahini / Head quarters: Mujibnagar Immediately after start of genocide on March 25, 1971 Bangali members of armed forces, East Pakistan Rifles, Police and Ansars together with patriotic youth built up local resistance, wherever they could. On April 4, high ranking officials of the Armed Forces involved in the resistance movement in the Eastern part met at Teliapara Tea Gardens, Sylhet for planning coordinated actions. The Cabinet Meeting of the Bangladesh Government on July 11, 1971 appointed Col. M. A. G. Osmany as the Commander-in-Chief, Lt. Col. Abdur Rab as Chief of Army Staff and Group Captain A. K. Khandker as Deputy Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Force. In this meeting, Bangladesh was divided into Eleven Sectors under the command of the Sector Commanders. The 10th. Sector was directly placed under Commander-in-Chief and included the Naval Commandos and C-in-C’s special force. Sector Commanders basically led the guerrilla warfare; later three regular army brigades were formed. On December 4, 1971 the Joint Command of the Bangladesh Liberation Force and The Eastern Command of the Indian Army was formed which won ultimate victory on December 16, 1971. Col. M. A. G. Osmany, Commander in Chief Group Captain A. K. Khanadker/ Deputy Chief of Command and Chief of Air Force Lt. Col. Abdur Rab/ Chief of Army Staff. SECTOR COMMANDERS Sector - 1 Major Ziaur Rahman (till June) Captain Rafiqul Islam (July to December) Coverage Area: Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts up to  Eastern side of Muhuri River Headquarters: Harina Sector 2 Major Khaled Musarraf (till 21 October) Captain A T M Hyder (22 October to December) Coverage area: Noakhali, part of Comilla, Dhaka city and Eastern part of Faridpur Headquarters: Melaghar Sector 3 Major K. M. Shafiullah (till September) Major A. N. M. Nuruzzaman (September to December) Coverage Area: Part of Sylhet and Comilla districts and Northern side of Dhaka district Headquarters: Montala (Sylhet) Sector – 4 Major C. R. Dutta Coverage Area: Part of Sylhet district Headquarters: Khoai Sector 5 Major Mir Shawkat Ali Coverage Area: Part of Sylhet district, Ajmiriganj and Western part of Lakhai Headquarters: Shillong Sector 6 Wing Commander Khademul Bashar (till December) Coverage Area: Rangpur and Thakurgaon of Dinajpur district Headquarters: Patgram (Rangpur) Sector 7 Major Nazmul Huq (till August) Major Kazi Nuruzzaman (September to December) Coverage Area: Rajshahi, Pabna and Bogra Headquarters: Tarangapur Sector 8 Major Abu Osman Chowdhury (till August) Major M. A. Manzoor ( September to December) Coverage Area: Jessore, Kustia, Faridpur and part of Khulna district Headquarters: Kalayani Sector 9 Major M. A. Jalil Mia Coverage Area: Barisal, Patuakhali and part of Khulna Headquarters: Tarangapur Sector 10 Naval Commando C-in-C’s Special force Naval Commandos conducted major operations in river and seaports at Chittagong, Mangla, Narayangonj and Chandpur. Significant coordinated operations were made at Chittagong Port on the night of August 15, 1971 mining and thus destroying 17 Pakistani ships. This Naval Commando was placed directly under Commander in Chief of Bangladesh Liberation Armed Force. Sector 11 Major Abu Taher (till November) Sq. Leader Hamidullah (November to December) Coverage Area: Tangail and part of Mymensingh district Head Quarters: Mahendraganj

 

King of Bollywood entertains Dhaka

All roads led to Army Stadium as the decked out stage was all set to welcome the 'King of Bollywood' Shahrukh Khan on December 10. Countless die-hard fans of the 'Bollywood Badshah' waited with bated breath to catch a glimpse of their favourite 'hero'.
Most of Shahrukh's Bangladeshi fans are seemingly youngsters. Of them the number of female fans might surpass that of men. They had so far watched Khan's charismatic performance on the small screen, and didn't want to miss the opportunity to see him perform live in Dhaka.
The show, titled 'King Khan Live in Dhaka' was organized by Antar Showbiz and Diamond World is the one of the top sponsor of the program.
A team of performers, which included Bollywood, stars Rani Mukerjee, Arjun Rampal and Isha Koppikar joined Khan in the three-hour live performance.
Bangladeshi singer Parvez opened the show. Parvez started with a high-pitched melancholic rock song “E Jibon Hariye Jaye”.
Chairman of Antar Showbiz, Swapan Chowdhury with his wife Nasreen Chowdhury, took the stage and delivered speeches.
A visual presentation featuring Bollywood actress Isha Koppikar was on next. The performance featured dances routines from films “Qayamat” and “Don” (2006).
Arjun Rampal arrived on stage in style -- on a bike. The actor sported a guitar and performed to the song “Rock On” and “Aap Ka Kya Hoga”.
“How is Dhaka? I love you,” Arjun yelled in Bangla. He also said, “Couple of days ago I suffered a back injury, but I had to come to Dhaka. I didn't want to disappoint you all.”
The ravishing Bengali belle Rani Mukerjee danced to a medley of some hit songs from her films, including “Saathia”, “Hum Tum” and “Shava Shava”.
Dazzling the audience with her cordial smile and girl-next-door charm, Rani spoke to the audience in Bangla and said, “You folks have been supporting me since the beginning of my career. I want your love and support more in the days ahead, so that I deliver better performances.”
Silence prevailed as footage of Shahrukh Khan went on the screen. Khan with his entourage of performers appeared on stage at 8:47pm. The mega-star performed a segue of hits -- “Love Mera Hit Hit”, “Dard-e Disco” and “Abhi Na Jao Chhor Kar.”
Audiences were chanting “Shahrukh”, “Shahrukh” as he disappeared from stage, leaving them craving for more of the star.
Wearing a white shirt, Khan appeared again on stage after a while and said, “Ami Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman-er deshey Bharatbarsho thekey onek onek bhalobasha aar shubhechcha boye enechhi.”
“I've heard of Kazi Nazrul Islam, Jasimuddin. I love Runajee's (Runa Laila) music. That's why I'm in Dhaka,” he added.
As per Khan's request, a couple from the audience joined Khan on stage and interacted with him.
Khan also delivered dialogues from his films “Devdas” and “Baazigar” on the show.
The highlight of the night was a duet by Rani Mukerji and Shahrukh Khan. The performance included “Tujhey Dekha Tho Ye Jana Sanam”, “Tum Paas Aaye”, “Tawba Tumharey Ye Isharey”, “Koi Mil Gaya” and “Mitwa”.
Later, all the artistes performed to the song “Om Shanti Om.” A rendition by Neeraj Shridhar wrapped up the show.
Boishakhi TV aired the event live.

Though several press conferences and features published in newspapers claimed that Shahrukh Khan will vote, and inspire his fans to vote, for the Sundarbans (largest mangrove forest in the world) to be included in the Natural Wonders List, he didn't do so.

 আজ ঢাকায় আসছেন শাহরুখ

আজ বৃহস্পতিবার ঢাকায় আসছেন শাহরুখ খান। কাল শুক্রবার আর্মি স্টেডিয়ামে কিং খান লাইভ ইন ঢাকা অনুষ্ঠানে অংশ নেবেন তিনি। বিশেষ বিমানে তাঁর সঙ্গে আসছেন স্ত্রী গৌরী খান, দুই সন্তান আরিয়ান ও সুহানা, বলিউড তারকা রানী মুখার্জি, ইশা কোপিকার, অর্জুন রামপাল, শেফালি জরিওয়ালা, গণেশ হেজ ও নিরাজ শ্রীধর। অনুষ্ঠানে বাংলাদেশ থেকে অংশ নিচ্ছেন কুমার বিশ্বজিৎ ও প্রান্তর। ভারতের মুম্বাই থেকে আরও আসছে ৪৮ জনের একটি নাচের দল।
কিং খান লাইভ ইন ঢাকা অনুষ্ঠানের আয়োজক প্রতিষ্ঠান অন্তর শোবিজের চেয়ারম্যান স্বপন চৌধুরী জানিয়েছেন, নিরাপত্তার স্বার্থে শাহরুখ ও তাঁর সঙ্গীদের আসার সময়টি গোপন রাখা হচ্ছে।
হজরত শাহজালাল আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর থেকে শাহরুখ ও তাঁর সঙ্গীদের নিয়ে যাওয়া হবে র্যাডিসন হোটেলে। এরই মধ্যে তাঁদের জন্য ৮০টি কক্ষ বরাদ্দ রাখা হয়েছে।
এদিকে শাহরুখ ও তাঁর সঙ্গীদের নিরাপত্তার জন্য দায়িত্বপ্রাপ্ত সেনাবাহিনী, বিমানবাহিনী, র্যাব ও এলিট ফোর্সের ঊর্ধ্বতন কর্মকর্তারা জানান, তাঁরা এরই মধ্যে শাহরুখ ও তাঁর সঙ্গী এবং কিং খান লাইভ ইন ঢাকা অনুষ্ঠানের নিরাপত্তার জন্য সব প্রস্তুতি চূড়ান্ত করেছেন।
এদিকে শাহরুখের বন্ধু ও চলচ্চিত্রনির্মাতা করণ জোহর গতকাল বুধবার নিজের টুইটারে লেখা এক বার্তায় জানিয়েছেন, কফি উইথ করণ অনুষ্ঠানে এবার তিনি শাহরুখকে এককভাবে আমন্ত্রণ জানিয়েছেন। গত সোমবার ওই অনুষ্ঠানের শুটিং শেষ হয়েছে। ধারণা করা হচ্ছে, আজ বিকেলের যেকোনো সময় ঢাকার উদ্দেশে রওনা দেবেন শাহরুখ।