cover story
Cyprus could
become bigger
than Dubai
Moshe Leviev,
CEO of one of
the world’s
biggest diamond
companies, sees
the potential
of a diamond
exchange here
B
illionaire diamond dealer
Lev Leviev co-founded Lev
Leviev Diamonds (LLD)
Ltd with his brother
Moshe Leviev, who
oversees the company’s everyday business. LLD is a diamond-manufacturing
company and cuts, polishes and markets
gemstone diamonds for jewellery all over
the world. The company has six branches
worldwide, with its main offices in Israel,
Belgium, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the
Philippines and the US, and sells its product in 50 countries. Its head office is at
the world-famous Ramat-Gan Diamond
Exchange in Israel.
In an exclusive interview with Gold,
Moshe Leviev expressed the view that a
Cyprus Diamond Exchange could be very
successful, not least because it would be
open to both Israelis and Arabs who are
excluded from each other’s countries:
“Cyprus can attract all of these people.
They have already convinced the Russians
that Cyprus is a good place to be and they
are among the biggest players when it
comes to rough diamonds. It’s a great location for Europe and beyond. The international diamond market is mainly made
up of Jews and Indians. Cyprus can cater
for everyone: Europeans, Arabs, Israelis,
Indians, Russians, Americans, Chinese.
It won’t be easy at first but I believe that
Cyprus could become bigger than Dubai.”
The longstanding and still unresolved
problems between Israel and its Arab neighbours make Cyprus an ideal location for
diamond trade in the region.
“The Arab market is huge but I can’t go
there,” says Leviev. “The Israel Diamond
Exchange is one of the biggest and best in the
world but the Arabs can’t use it. But none of
us have a problem with Cyprus.”
Asked about what kind of tax structure
Cyprus should impose, Leviev believes that
the Dubai model makes sense: “Start with
no taxes for the first few years and later there
could be a small tax on profits when people
want to take their money out. The government will make millions from all the other
related things that a diamond exchange will
bring, like tourism.”
While Yianni Melas believes in thinking
big, Moshe Leviev says that such a project
need not be too expensive to get underway.
“A small complex with a few buildings is
enough. A few thousand square metres
would suffice, though I agree that it would
be good to think ahead. When they started
building the Dubai Diamond Exchange, they
offered people office space. The entire building was sold out in a single day.”
Once it is up and running, the Cyprus
Diamond Exchange would have few operational expenses apart from security, which is
essential. “After what has happened in Cyprus recently, the main problem may be to
convince people that they will not lose their
money!” he says with a smile. “But seriously,
they will forget this. A whole industry could
operate in Cyprus – even manufacturing
and diamond cutting if the government is
interested. Your politicians need to have vision and show a willingness to do everything
right. Cyprus does not have the problems of
Israel so I would say that, once everything is
properly planned, it is doable within a year.
This is not pie in the sky; it’s a real and viable
proposition.”
This is not
pie in the
sky; it’s a
real and
viable
proposition
the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus
Gold 21