RAPAPORT… Namibia’s rough-diamond division is expanding its client base, after seeing strong sales in its first year of operations.
Namdia garnered revenue of NAD 2 billion (USD$142.8 million) in the 12 months that ended February 28, and last week declared a dividend of NAD 50 million ($3.6 million) to the government. It reported an after-tax profit of NAD 139.4 million ($10 million).
Namib Desert Diamonds (Pty)Ltd (NAMDIA) is a Diamond Sales and Marketing Company established by the Government of the Republic of Namibia. NAMDIA buys and sells, on behalf of the Government, a purchase entitlement from NAMDEB’s total production. NAMDIA is hereby inviting interested parties to apply to become part of NAMDIA’s clientele for the purchase of rough diamonds.
Applicants are required to submit an application form and supporting documentations to the following address:
Namib Desert Diamonds (Pty) Ltd – NAMDIA – wishes to address the allegations, innuendos and suggestions made by selected media claiming that NAMDIA has “deliberately sold the country’s diamonds cheaply to Dubai” and there is “continued suspicion of selling diamonds for peanuts to Middle East-based companies”. It further suggests that NAMDIA “had sold diamonds for US$500 (around N$7100) per carat” suggesting that the company has undersold diamonds.
Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) said it will export its annual 15 percent entitlement of diamonds produced by Namdeb Holdings in line with the marketing and sales agreement signed between Namibia and De Beers in 2016.
Under the sales agreement the Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) sells the country’s rough stones, on behalf of Namdeb Holdings, to De Beers for its 85 percent entitlement and the rest to Namdia.
De Beers in turn sells part of its entitlement to sightholders in Namibia and takes the remainder to Gaborone for aggregation.
“Our 15 percent, or a minimum of $150 million, was earmarked for international sales and not for the local market,” company chief executive Kennedy Hamutenya was quoted as saying by a local newspaper, New Era.
“This was a deliberate policy decision by the government in order to make inroads into the international market and reduce our reliance on the middleman in selling our stones. This was done to give us better insights into this very secretive and opaque industry.”
He said Namdia does not deal in or handle diamonds mixed with those of other producing nations.
“When a client is buying Namdia diamonds they can be guaranteed that they are buying a 100 percent Namibian-mined diamond,” said Hamutenya.
“This is particularly important for those clients who want to give assurance to their end user client that they know the source of the diamond – that it was not involved in child labour, that it is not tainted as a conflict or blood diamond and that it has no links with money laundering or financing of terrorism.”
Source: Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
Namib Desert Diamonds’ (Namdia) outlook for the Namibian diamond industry in 2018 is positive despite a few challenges.
In a media statement, Namdia Chief Executive Officer Kennedy Hamutenya said the industry remains firm despite challenges such as the long-term demand for natural diamonds in light of the introduction of man-made synthetic diamonds.
“We in Namibia stand strong on the evidence that we have some of the finest high quality gemstones in the world for which there will always be a demand”, he said.
Namibian diamonds are of the highest quality in the world. The world’s diamonds manufacturers and diamantries, therefore, have a great appetite for these precious stones. This is the view of Kennedy Hamutenya, Chief Executive Officer of Namib Desert Diamonds (NAMDIA), which was established in 2016 “to discover the price of Namibia’s diamonds in the international market.”
Windhoek-Chief Executive Officer of Namib Desert Diamonds (NAMDIA), Kennedy Hamutenya, has rubbished allegations that the newly established company sold Namibian diamonds below market value.
NAMDIA was established in 2016 to trade Namibian rough diamonds directly in the international markets without using middlemen and not through De Beers, as is the case with the rest of the 85 percent of the diamonds marketed and sold through them.
Windhoek – Namibian diamonds are of the highest quality in the world. The world’s diamond manufacturers and diamantaires, therefore, have a great appetite for these precious stones. This is the view of Kennedy Hamutenya, Chief Executive Officer of Namib Desert Diamonds (NAMDIA), which was established in 2016 “to discover the price of Namibia’s rough diamonds in the international market”
Where dreams are a dime a dozen, Kennedy Hamutenya (NAMDIA C.E.O) is proving that no ambition is too big.
It’s exactly a year to this month that NAMDIA, a new Namibian government company which is entitled to buy 15% of NamDeb’s run-ofmine production for onward sale to discerning world markets was founded. And this anniversary coincides well with Hamutenya’s 50th birthday. As Chief Executive Officer, Hamutenya is the face of NAMDIA. His experience in the diamond industry, his position in the political landscape of Namibia and his stature in the community, are not reflective of the the physical office he now occupies in Windhoek. Whilst waiting for the completion of NAMDIA’s offices currently under construction, Hamutenya and his team of dedicated managers operated from small rented offices in the city.