The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) held its Executive Committee meeting long with the Asia-Pacific Presidents’ Summit in Macau on September 10 and 11, discussing a range of crucial issues affecting the global diamond industry, particularly generic marketing.

The two-day event was hosted by the Macau Association for the Promotion of Diamond and Gem Trade Development in Macau in a meeting organised by the Shanghai Diamond Exchange. In addition to the members of the Committee, the event was also attended by presidents of diamond exchanges in the region, including China, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Russia.

Discussions centred around the importance of recent announcements aimed at boosting consumer demand via generic promotion campaigns. Other key issues that were on the agenda included declining profitability for the WFDB's members due to high rough prices and falling polished prices, as well as the decrease in bank credit to the diamond trade.

WFDB President Blom said, "The Exco Meeting and Asia-Pacific Presidents’ Summit once again showed their importance in providing a setting for comprehensive discussions on all the critical issues of the day that are affecting our members. This is a forum which enables regional bourse presidents to explain their concerns in a relaxed meeting. There was definitely an upbeat feel to the meeting in light of recent announcements regarding big increases in global generic diamond marketing campaigns."

Blom also expressed commiserations on the deaths and damage caused by Typhoon Hato and appreciated the efforts of the organizers in holding an excellent summit meeting so soon after the natural disaster.