Bharat Diamond Bourse to Open on October 17

Mumbai’s diamond trade – currently conducted out of three buildings in the city’s southern Panchratna neighborhood – will move into its new headquarters in the Bandra-Kurla Complex on October 17, the Business Standard reports.

The new Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) will be inaugurated on the day of the Dussehra festival, which BDB President Anoop Mehta said would allow bourse residents time to move their offices.

The Bharat Diamond Bourse extends over 20 acres and once business gets underway will be one of Asia’s biggest diamond trading centers. The bourse’s eight nine-story towers hold 2,500 offices, and the BDB reports that 2,275 have already been allotted to diamond companies, over 900 of which are official bourse members.

Remaining office space will be sold at auction, BDB Vice President Satishchandra Shah noted.

In other news from India’s diamond industry, the newly-formed Surat Diamond Sourcing (India) Limited (SDSIL) has changed its name to Surat Rough Diamond Sourcing (India) Limited, the dnaindia.com news site reports.

Chairman Ashit Mehta told dnaindia.com that the organization’s original name was too similar to that of other diamond companies and could not be registered. “We thought it was better to change the name somewhat rather than delaying the formation of the company and its operations,” Mehta explained.
A spokesman said that the new name, with the acronym SRDSIL, has already been registered.