ABN AMRO Opens Office in Almas Tower, Dubai
January 31, 12
(IDEX Online News) – The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) yesterday announced that ABN AMRO Bank's International Diamond and Jewellery Group (ID&JG) has opened a representative office in the Almas Towers. Almas Towers is home to more than 300 regional and international diamond and precious gems companies.
The Almas Towers
The ID&JG will provide commercial banking products and services for financing trade flows of rough and polished diamonds and jewelry. Following the 2008 takeover of ABN AMRO Bank by Royal Bank of Scotland, the ID&JG business unit continued as part of the Royal Bank of Scotland in Dubai on a temporary basis. The business separated on 9 December, 2011 and now operates again as ABN AMRO Bank.
To commemorate the opening, DMCC and ABN AMRO held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Almas Towers. Speaking at the event, Victor van der Kwast, the outgoing 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 capitalizing on this, along with the presence of many of our large global clients in Dubai."
"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-caliber company to the DMCC community confirms the UAE's importance as a significant global diamond hub," said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of DMCC.