Executive Vice President, Diamond Trading, De Beers
Stronger Together: Launch event with Bruce Cleaver, CEO and Paul Rowley, EVP Diamond Trading
It is more important now, during these challenging times, that we stand together. Reflecting on this, De Beers Group is hosting a series of live, web-based events, Stronger Together, designed to engage with our partners during the current COVID-19 crisis.
This first event introduces the series and is hosted by Bruce Cleaver, Group CEO and Paul Rowley, Executive Vice President Diamond Trading.
Transcript (2 segments)
H
Host0:04
Hello everybody and thank you for joining us today for our Stronger Together series. Finding shared solutions is more important than ever. Our webinars aim to provide updates on our actions and hear from the industry. At De Beers, our response to COVID-19 focuses on three areas: keeping people safe, supporting the industry, and preparing for the future. We have committed over $5 million to COVID-19 response in Botswana, Canada, Namibia, and South Africa, including funding for ventilators, sanitation, masks, and PCR machines. We have offered flexibility to customers, including deferrals and extended buybacks. Before COVID-19, the diamond industry was improving, and historical data shows diamond sales recover quickly post-recession. We are planning for recovery by focusing on marketing and consumer trends. We are confident the industry will emerge stronger. I'll now hand over to Paul Rowley for more details on rough sales, production, and ethical standards.
P
Paul Rowley14:07
Thanks Bruce. Diamonds symbolize togetherness, which is crucial now. I'll discuss rough sales, production, and best practice principles. We have offered unprecedented flexibility to customers, including deferrals and extended deadlines. We revised our 2020 production guidance down by 7 million carats to 25-27 million. Other producers have also scaled back. We must maintain high ethical standards through the RJC and best practice principles. Despite the challenges, the industry has a bright future. We have proven resilient through past crises, and we will overcome this one.