Alrosa Moves to Strengthen India Base

RAPAPORT... Russian diamond miner Alrosa has opened its first office in Mumbai as part of aneffort to strengthen ties with Indian diamond manufacturers. The new location, housed in the Bharat Diamond Bourse, willbe headed by Jim Vimadalal (pictured, left), a former Rio Tinto and Swarovski executive. Hisduties will include procuring and negotiating with new clients, exploringpartnership possibilities, and working with trade bodies. "Our India office will drive the interactions with theindustry stakeholders more efficiently," he said last week. "Going forward, thecooperation between Alrosa and the polished-diamond manufacturers in India willcontinue to grow, and opening the representative office in India is a logicalstep in that direction." The company is also looking for opportunities to work with majorjewelry retailers in India, said Evgeny Agureev, director of Alrosa USO, theminer's main sales division. "The Indian diamond jewelry market has a hugegrowth potential, including strong opportunities to strengthen the demand fordiamond jewelry at the retail end," he added, without expanding on the plans. Alrosa currently has 15 long-term contracts with Indiandiamond-manufacturing companies for the 2018-to-2020 period. The Russian-basedminer supplied nearly $700 million-worth of diamonds to the Indian market in2017.