25 Antwerp Diamond Firms at March Hong Kong Jewellery Show
February 25, 08
Approximately 25 Antwerp-based diamond companies will be participating in the Antwerp Diamond Pavilion at the upcoming Hong Kong International Jewellery Show, scheduled to run March 4-8, and another 10 companies will exhibit independently in other locations at the show. The Antwerp Diamond Pavilion will feature a classic and open design, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) promises, which aims to attract visitors and enable them to conduct business in a comfortable setting. The pavilion is situated in Hall 5, the most visited of the show’s exhibition spaces. “Given the expected growth of the Hong Kong market, supporting the activities of Antwerp-based companies in this region has become one of our core activities,” said Freddy J. Hanard, CEO of the AWDC, which organizes the Antwerp Diamond Pavilion. Hong Kong is one of Antwerp’s most important diamond export markets. In January 2008 alone, it consumed almost 100,000 carats of polished diamonds worth $119.9 million from Belgium, 12.6 percent more than in January 2007. In 2007, Hong Kong imported $1.66 billion worth of polished diamonds from Belgium, making it Antwerp’s second largest export market after the U.S.