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The Antwerpsche Diamantkring is proud to open its trading floor for the business-to-business trading event “Antwerp Rough Diamond Days”. The event takes place on 24 and 25 February 2016 from 10 am till 5 pm. It is the perfect opportunity for buyers and sellers to meet. During the Antwerp Rough Diamond Days, the Antwerpsche Diamantkring will launch its new website.
AWDC has the pleasure to invite you to celebrate Purim with us during a free festive show starring the famous Gat Brothers on 22 March, 7 PM at the Zuiderkroon in Antwerp.
Despite low expectations among exhibitors at the seventh edition of the Antwerp Diamond Trade Fair (ADTF), following reports of a slow holiday sales season for European retail jewelers and diamond distributors, the overall mood "was distinctly upbeat', said the organizers of the show. "We were here for all three days, spent a lot of time in the halls, viewing lots of goods, holding extended negotiations about the choice of diamonds we had selected. It was not easy, but we did some very serious business here," said Albert M., a Middle Eastern diamond buyer in a statement released by the fair's organizing committee. "Of course, Antwerp remains the number one source for diamonds. If you do not find what you are looking for here, trust me, you will not find it anywhere else."
Innovative financial technology (FinTech) is coming to Antwerp to bring easy and fast financial services to the diamond industry. AWDC is organizing an information session on 23 February at 11 am. This info session will introduce you to two FinTech companies – London and Silicon Valley-based Uphold, and Brussels-based FX4BIZ. These companies provide financial services and payment solutions for all international transactions in multiple currencies. AWDC has entered into a cooperation agreement with these companies to build a tailor-made and sustainable banking infrastructure for the Antwerp diamond industry. During the information session, these FinTech companies will tell you all about their secure and fully transparent financial services and will answer all questions you may have about opening an account. Client onboarding and acceptance will take place after the event.
Over the past months the AWDC Security Office noticed an increase in cyber crime incidents (please see below) affecting diamond companies within the Antwerp Diamond Area. Regrettably, several cyber criminals were successful, while others fortunately failed and were foiled solely because of aware and alert diamond company staff! The losses range from one thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and are in most cases unrecoverable. Cyber crime is not automatically covered in typical diamond-related insurance policies. Contact your insurance broker for more information.
In the context of the "Integrated Anti-Tiger Kidnapping Program" (IATKP), AWDC Security Office announces the following monthly Anti-Tiger Kidnapping briefing, which will take place on Thursday 18 February 2016 from 11 AM – 12 noon in Conference Room ‘Oppenheimer of the AWDC building on level -1. This briefing is addressed to CEOs, middle management and staff working in the Antwerp diamond sector.
There are several physical threats applicable to Antwerp diamond companies: fraud, theft, switching, robbery, burglary, tiger kidnapping … For a couple of months now, AWDC SO has observed another increasing threat: cyber crime. Examples of cyber crime include, but are not limited to: email hacks, caller ID fraud, money exchange fraud, invoice fraud, bank transfer fraud, malware attacks …
AWDC SO wants to increase awareness in the Antwerp Diamond Community about the recent surge of cyber crime and offer preventive security measures. This briefing is focused on and addressed to CEOs, GMs, CFOs and personnel, mandated to order or perform financial transactions such as payments, money exchanges and transfers.
AWDC SO will organize the "Cyber Crime Awareness Briefings" on a monthly basis.
With the S-ADA Security Awareness briefing, AWDC Security Office announces its newest monthly meeting for the benefit of CEOs, GMs and diamond brokers.
Agenda:
• Presentation of the services provided by AWDC SO to all involved in the Antwerp diamond district.
• Presentation and visualization of risks, incidents and their impact.
• Recommendation and description of effective security measures.
The next briefing is scheduled on Thursday 18 February 2016 from 9:30 AM until 10:30 AM in Conference Room ‘Oppenheimer’ in the AWDC building at level -1.
