The new Hong Kong office of HRD Antwerp was officially inaugurated on April 21 in the presence of Belgian and Indian government officials, leaders of the Hong Kong Indian Diamond Association (HKIDA) and senior representatives of leading diamond and diamond jewellery companies from the city.

The new office is located at Unit 1204 A 12/F Harbour Centre 2 Hok Cheung Street 8 Hunghom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, the same premises where HKIDA also has its offices. As reported earlier, HKIDA and HRD Antwerp have signed a MoU concerning the screening of melee diamond parcels using the M-Screen at the new HRD premises.

Speaking at the inauguration, Peter Macken, CEO HRD Antwerp, said, “In addition to the introduction of the highly anticipated melee screening service, the relocation of our Hong Kong operations to the HKIDA premises, is a sound move forward towards strengthening our local presence.”

Ramesh Virani, President HKIDA, said,  “As HKIDA’s aim is to safeguard consumer confidence throughout the diamond industry while protecting the natural diamond trade, the service agreement concerning the use of the M-Screen is a great step forward in offering our members the tool they need to make absolutely sure their melee diamond parcels are free of lab-grown diamonds.”

He added that the collaboration was a further step forward in strengthening the business links between India and Belgium.

Pic Caption (ltor): HE Consul General of Belgium Michèle Deneffe, HE Consul from the Consulate General of India, Karun Bansal, Peter Macken, CEO HRD Antwerp, Ramesh Virani President of HKIDA and HE Consul from the Consulate General of India, Narayan Singh.