Alrosa to Strengthen Position in China

RAPAPORT... Alrosa is looking to expand its presence in China, with plans to increase the number of long-term clients for its rough diamonds in the country. The company currently supplies around 5% of its total sales to entities in China and Hong Kong, but more companies have access to Alrosa rough by buying throughintermediaries, according to CEO Sergey Ivanov. Alrosa wants to cut out those dealers and supply roughdirectly to those companies at its monthly sales, a spokesperson told RapaportNews Wednesday. Alrosa has six partnerships in China and Hong Kong,including with Chow Tai Fook, the largest jewelry retailer in the country. The miner is in the process of reviewing anadditional two candidates for inclusion in its long-term "Alrosa Alliance" program. "Strengthening and developing our relationship with Chinese[businesses], especially with local jewelry retailers, are among our main goalstoday," Ivanov added. As part of this initiative, Alrosa tested a pilot program toaccept payment in Russian rubles earlier this month. A Chinese buyer paid forgoods at an Alrosa auction in Hong Kong in rubles using Russian lender VTBBank's Shanghai branch. Alrosa also plans to increase its marketing in China, itsaid. Last year the company began conducting market research in the country,and will use its findings to boost its visibility to Chinese buyers andretailers, the company said. The miner will also conduct more tenders throughits Hong Kong office. Alrosa is in the process of working on variousmarketing initiatives with Chinese partners, which it will launch at a laterdate, it added.