Thursday, 17 May 2012
AWDC CEO Ari Epstein (seated, left) and ICBC Senior Executive Vice President Li Xiaopeng (seated, right) signing the Cooperation Framework Agreement. Witnessing the signing are Crown Prince Philippe (standing, left) and ICBC Chairman Jiang Jianqing (standing, right).
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Belgium's Crown Prince Philippe (third from right) and Princess Mathilde during the signing ceremony flanked by ICBC and AWDC officials, from left, Li Xiaopeng, ICBC Senior Executive Vice President; Jiang Jianqing, ICBC Chairman; and Ari Epstein, AWDC CEO.
Witnessing the signing ceremony (from left): Steven Vanackere, Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Institutional Reforms; Liu Xueliang, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for Key Large-Sized State-Owned Enterprises in China; Chris Peeters, Minister President of Flanders; Nishit Parikh, AWDC President; Benoît Cerexhe and Jean-Luc Vanraes, Ministers of the Government of the Brussels Region; and Jean-Claude Marcourt, Vice-Minister-President of Walloon.
Crown Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde visiting the first stop in the Antwerp Diamond Roadshow in Beijing.
ICBC joins with largest diamond centre to extend diamond financing
Joint Press Release issued by ICBC AND AWDC
Witnessed by high ranking officials and VIP guests from both China and Belgium, the Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) today signed a Cooperation Framework Agreement, starting their cooperation in the field of diamond financing.
According to the agreement, ICBC will provide AWDC with professional first-class financial services. Through its global network and advanced IT system, ICBC will provide various services to the Antwerp diamond companies, such as trade and product financing, global cash management, bank card acceptance, Chinese yuan-based international settlement, capital transaction and investment banking, etc.
The AWDC will assist ICBC in entering the field of diamond financing and assist its Brussels Branch to obtain the required location, the necessary professional technology, people, equipment and information to support the launch of ICBC’s diamond financing activities. ICBC’s important global range of clients will be provided with high-quality and competitively priced diamond products.
After the signing ceremony, Belgian Crown Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde personally inaugurated the Antwerp Diamond Roadshow, launching a 10-day journey showcasing Antwerp diamonds in China.
During the 10 days, 15 Antwerp diamond enterprises will visit Beijing, Taiyuan, Jinan, Hangzhou and Guangzhou. They will exhibit high-quality polished diamonds, valued around $200 million, and give China’s most important jewellers and investors the opportunity to establish direct contact with Antwerp member companies. ICBC, as the sole financial service provider for AWDC and its participating member diamond companies during the roadshow, will provide various flexible services for this event.
The city of Antwerp is the world’s capital of diamonds. It has the most renowned diamond manufacturing technology and is the main hub for natural diamonds in the world. According to statistics, out of every 10 rough diamonds, eight are sent to Antwerp for further manufacturing, and 80 percent of global diamond trading is conducted in Antwerp.
Over the past few years, the Antwerp diamond industry has played an increasingly important role in the Chinese-Belgian trade relationship. Diamonds represent 25 percent of all the trade between China and Belgium.
AWDC is the largest diamond organisation in the world, representing 1,800 excellent diamond company members. The Belgian diamond industry reports an annual turnover of $45 billion.
Globally, ICBC is the commercial bank with the highest market capitalisation value, highest revenue and highest clients’ saving value. Cooperation of the two strong partners to jointly extend diamond financing business will not only bring excellent services to people and companies in China and Belgium, but it also will have an important facilitating role to further deepen the Chinese-Belgian trade relationship.
