Saturday, September 20, 2014

DTN News - CHINA NEWS: China Drives Global Diamond Jewelery Sales To $79 Billion

DTN News - CHINA NEWS: China Drives Global Diamond Jewelery Sales To $79 Billion
• China's market share will increase to 20 to 25 percent in a decade and could soon surpass that of the United States
• Demand for the precious stone has reached a record high

• A dearth of new diamond finds in recent years has hurt production rates, while existing mines in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia are becoming depleted
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources CNN News
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 20, 2014: (HONG KONG) - China's demand for polished diamonds has exploded over the past decade rising from 3 percent of global demand in 2003 to 15 percent in 2013 when booming global sales reached an estimated US$79 billion.

Polished diamond sales in China rocketed by 14% last year alone, double the pace of growth seen in the U.S.

Overall, sales of diamond jewelry to the Chinese have been the fastest growing in the world, averaging about 21% a year over the last decade. China now accounts for 13% of global demand, up from just 3% in 2003.

The U.S. is still the world's largest diamond market but companies such as De Beers are increasingly looking to China for growth.

As disposable incomes rise, Chinese consumers are driving global markets for luxury products, including expensive watches, handbags, cars and diamonds. China now accounts for nearly one-third of global luxury purchases, according to the report.


China is still seeing much higher than average growth in diamond sales, even though some luxury segments have been hurt by a government anti-corruption campaign, and a slowing economy. Global diamond jewelry sales hit a record $79 billion last year, led by strong interest from the Chinese for the rare gem, according to a report from De Beers.

Based on the current trajectory, China's market share will increase to 20 to 25 percent in a decade and could soon surpass that of the United States, long the world's top market with 40 percent of global sales last year, De Beers' executive head of strategy and corporate affairs Bruce Cleaver said in an interview with The Straits Times Friday.

Demand for the precious stone has reached a record high, with global sales being driven by Chinese buyers switching their fancies from gold and jade to diamonds, according to an inaugural industry report by De Beers, the world's largest supplier of diamonds.

Demand from China grew 14 percent on year in 2013, the fastest rate globally, according to De Beers' Diamond Insight Report.

The bulk of demand came from married women, who accounted for two thirds of purchases and sales value.Engaged women accounted for around 20 percent of purchases and contributed to just under a quarter of sales value in China, while single women accounted for 14 percent of purchases and made up 11 percent of sales value.

The report, released at the Hong Kong Jewellery and Gem Fair, said the 'spoiling route' in China buying or receiving a diamond outside of a specific occasion is thriving. Last year, 18 percent of diamond purchases were made for no particular occasion, while 24 percent were self-purchases rather than gifts.

Although China remains the largest contributor to demand in the global diamond jewelry market, its exponential rate has started to slow.

"China is the biggest engine growth for the diamonds business and has been for the past five to 10 years. The rate is slowing down but it's still a big increase. I think this year China demand will be just under 10 percent," said Philippe Mellier, CEO of De Beers Group

Meanwhile, sales in India and Japan declined 10 percent and 6 percent, respectively, in U.S. dollar terms in 2013.

Mellier pointed out that consumers are set for higher prices in the coming years as demand thrives but production tightens.

A dearth of new diamond finds in recent years has hurt production rates, while existing mines in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia are becoming depleted and the need to dig deeper has made operations less profitable.

"Unless major new discoveries are made in the coming years, supply can be expected to decline gradually from 2020," De Beers said, forecasting rocky times ahead for the $85 billion a year industry.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources CNN News
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News - CHINA NEWS: Alibaba Prices Shares At $68 In Largest US IPO Ever

DTN News - CHINA NEWS: Alibaba Prices Shares At $68 In Largest US IPO Ever
• The $21.8 billion raised is to be split among the Chinese e-commerce behemoth, its executives and early investors
• Alibaba is expected to begin trading at the New York Stock Exchange Friday morning
• A $68 per share IPO will have raised $21.77 billion and valued the company at $167.62 billion.
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Forbes
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 20, 2014: (NEW YORK) - Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group priced shares on Thursday for its upcoming initial public offering at $68 each, in what is one of the largest IPO for a U.S.-listed company.
The deal raised $21.8 billion, which is to be split among the Chinese e-commerce behemoth, its executives and early investors.

The total comes close to the previous record of $22 billion raised by Agricultural Bank of China.

Alibaba, which not only dominates the market in its home country but also has designs to expand aggressively abroad, is expected to begin trading at the New York Stock Exchange Friday morning.

If Alibaba's offering plans have not changed, a $68 per share IPO will have raised $21.77 billion and valued the company at $167.62 billion.

The meeting of underwriters and Alibaba executives took place at Citigroup, sources told CNBC.

The closed door meeting lasted about 45 minutes, and the discussion was about the company's future, not the IPO prices, sources told CNBC.

Slated to be the largest IPO in world history, Alibaba's offering has been compared to Facebook's, which was mired by technological and filing hiccups that saw the price initially fall.

The firm was expected to price within a range of $66 to $68, with advisors recommending $68.

The IPO has been anticipated for months, if not years, as investors have been attracted to the company's market dominance in China and its impressive profitability. The deal also carries significant symbolic value: A Chinese company achieving a historic IPO by listing its shares in the U.S, reports WSJ.

Alibaba's IPO price values the whole company at $168 billion, making it instantly one of the largest listed in the U.S. and giving it a larger market capitalization than Amazon, which is at about $150 billion.

The stock is poised to start trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BABA. Alibaba decided to list its shares in New York instead of Hong Kong because regulations in the Asian hub prevent the company's founding partners from maintaining control of the board.

Alibaba, founded in 1999 by now-Executive Chairman Jack Ma, has thrived on the boom in e-commerce in China, the world's most populous nation. According to recent readings, Alibaba controls 80 percent of China's e-commerce market. The company's Taobao and Tmall marketplaces handled $248 billion in online transactions last year, which is more than Amazon and eBay had combined, reports WSJ.

The company's momentum has continued. Last month, Alibaba posted a 46 percent jump in revenue for its most recent quarter, helped along by an increase in revenue and transactions derived from mobile users. The company also is far more profitable than many of its American Internet counterparts, generating 43 percent operating profit margins in the second quarter. In comparison, Amazon had a 0 percent operating margin.

Ma has pushed his company to expand into other segments, making more than a dozen acquisitions already this year.

Recently, it bought a stake in online video-site operator Youku Tudou and a 50 percent stake in a professional soccer team. Investors who attended a recent Alibaba presentation told The Wall Street Journal that Ma said the company wants to be a "zoo that houses many animals rather than a farm which just has one animal."

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*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Forbes
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Canadian Fighter Jets Intercept Russian Bombers in Arctic

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Canadian Fighter Jets Intercept Russian Bombers in Arctic
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources CBC News
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 20, 2014Fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers flying about 75 kilometres off Canada’s Arctic coast in the early morning hours Thursday, NORAD revealed to CBC News.

Two CF-18s met the Tupolev Tu-95 long-range bombers, commonly referred to as "Bears," at around 1:30 a.m. PT as they flew a course in “the western reaches” of Canada’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the Beaufort Sea, said Maj. Beth Smith, spokeswoman for North American Aerospace Defence Command.

The ADIZ extends approximately 320 kilometres from Canada’s coastlines, a distance far beyond the 22 kilometres, or 12 nautical miles, from the coast that define a nation’s sovereign airspace. Smith made it clear that the Russian bombers never entered Canada’s sovereign airspace, but did come within about 75 kilometres of Canada's mainland. 

The encounter comes one day after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko delivered a speech in Parliament thanking Canada for its ongoing support as his country’s forces battle with pro-Russian separatist rebels.

“This is disturbing. We’ve heard stories like in the past, of Russian bombers challenging Canadian airspace,” said James Bezan, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of National Defence and a Conservative MP from Manitoba.

“This plays into the narrative of a Putin regime that’s more aggressive not just in Crimea, not just in Ukraine, but indeed testing their neighbour in their entire region," he said. 

About six hours before the CF-18s intercepted the Russian bombers, American F-22 fighter jets were scrambled from a base in Alaska to meet a group of Russian aircraft, including two refuelling tankers, two MiG-31 fighters and two long-range bombers.

After the U.S. jets made contact, the group headed west back towards Russian airspace.

“We’re seeing increased aggressive actions being taken by the Russian Federation,” Bezan said during an interview on CBC’s Power & Politics.

Despite the ongoing tensions between Western allies and Russia, it is not the first time Canadian and U.S. aircraft have intercepted Russian bombers seemingly flying toward sovereign airspace.

According to Smith, NORAD has dispatched fighter jets to make contact with Russian long-range bombers “in excess of 50 times” in the last five years.

Canadian jets intercepted the same type of long-range bombers off the coast of Newfoundland in 2010. After that incident, Peter MacKay, then minister of defence, told CBC News that Canadian military aircraft intercept between 12 and 18 Russian bombers annually.

Fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers flying about 75 kilometres off Canada’s Arctic coast in the early morning hours Thursday, NORAD revealed to CBC News.

Two CF-18s met the Tupolev Tu-95 long-range bombers, commonly referred to as "Bears," at around 1:30 a.m. PT as they flew a course in “the western reaches” of Canada’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the Beaufort Sea, said Maj. Beth Smith, spokeswoman for North American Aerospace Defence Command.

The ADIZ extends approximately 320 kilometres from Canada’s coastlines, a distance far beyond the 22 kilometres, or 12 nautical miles, from the coast that define a nation’s sovereign airspace. Smith made it clear that the Russian bombers never entered Canada’s sovereign airspace, but did come within about 75 kilometres of Canada's mainland. 

The encounter comes one day after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko delivered a speech in Parliament thanking Canada for its ongoing support as his country’s forces battle with pro-Russian separatist rebels.

“This is disturbing. We’ve heard stories like in the past, of Russian bombers challenging Canadian airspace,” said James Bezan, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of National Defence and a Conservative MP from Manitoba.

“This plays into the narrative of a Putin regime that’s more aggressive not just in Crimea, not just in Ukraine, but indeed testing their neighbour in their entire region," he said. 

About six hours before the CF-18s intercepted the Russian bombers, American F-22 fighter jets were scrambled from a base in Alaska to meet a group of Russian aircraft, including two refuelling tankers, two MiG-31 fighters and two long-range bombers.

After the U.S. jets made contact, the group headed west back towards Russian airspace.

“We’re seeing increased aggressive actions being taken by the Russian Federation,” Bezan said during an interview on CBC’s Power & Politics.

Despite the ongoing tensions between Western allies and Russia, it is not the first time Canadian and U.S. aircraft have intercepted Russian bombers seemingly flying toward sovereign airspace.

According to Smith, NORAD has dispatched fighter jets to make contact with Russian long-range bombers “in excess of 50 times” in the last five years.

Canadian jets intercepted the same type of long-range bombers off the coast of Newfoundland in 2010. After that incident, Peter MacKay, then minister of defence, told CBC News that Canadian military aircraft intercept between 12 and 18 Russian bombers annually.

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*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources CBC News
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS