The UAE based Pure Gold Group, has announced an ambitious plan to invest US$ 150 million in what it calls “India’s robust economy”. The jeweller currently has 25 jewellery retail outlets in India under its flagship brand Pure Gold Jewellers.

The investment of US$ 150 million will be made in three major business sectors: retail, manufacturing (diamond and gold jewellery) and hospitality over the next three years.

Explaining its decision “to strengthen its foothold in the Indian market”, a company press release noted: “Recent reports by the International Monetary Fund predict that India’s economy will overtake China in terms of its annual growth rate by 2016. The IMF released estimates predict that India’s economy will grow at 6.3 and 6.5 percent respectively over the next two years making it the fastest growing emerging economy in the world.”

Firoz Merchant, Chairman and Founder of Pure Gold Group, said: “We believe in the Indian economy’s strong long term outlook. This is also the right time for us to expand our gold and jewellery business as with the slump in oil prices, the price of gold is on the rise and we see investors with a long term vision benefitting from this.”

 Merchant added: “Our new investment plans are aimed at increasing our reach across the country. We currently own a diamond manufacturing unit in India and we plan to increase its capacity. With the US$ 150 million investment, we also plan to enter India’s booming hospitality sector which will be a new line of business for us. We will initiate our investment plans this year to be completed by 2017. After this phase is accomplished, I plan to start the second phase of a business plan in India.”

Recently at the World Diamond Conference held in New Delhi, India, Pure Gold Jewellers, the flagship company of Pure Gold Group was given the prestigious title of World Diamond Mark’s Authorised Diamond Dealer®. It is the first and only jewellery retailer in GCC and India to adopt and introduce the World Diamond Mark’s Authorised Diamond Dealer® (ADD) programme. According to Merchant, the certification is an indication of the company’s commitment to transparency and quality of diamond.

Regarding the outlook for gold prices he said: “Gold prices are currently on the upswing and I expect this trend to continue. Usually when there is a dip in the economy, gold is the first asset that investors turn to as it is a safe haven due to the ease of liquidity. In the coming months, I expect the market to be highly volatile and there will be fluctuations in the price of gold. And this sharp uptake in consumer confidence in gold prices will aid us in our expansion plans.”