JNA Mar 2020

睿談敏略 JNA Mar/Apr 2020 | 33 D iamond industry expert Mahiar Borhanjoo, CEO of Uni Diamonds, talks about his pioneering initiatives such as the Uni Diamonds “ecosystem,” which offers smart solutions to the diamond trade. JNA: Please tell us more about the Uni Diamonds platform. Mahiar Borhanjoo: We have four prongs within the ecosystem. First, we provide data to update the trade on pricing, goods availability and demand. This, alongside the information on every diamond that we sell, which is captured in the Uni passport, feeds into the sales component, which is done online and offline through our platform to ensure maximum value for our partners. There’s also Uni capital, which provides upfront financing of up to 50 per cent of the value of the diamonds, with the remainder to be paid when the goods are sold. We consider ourselves a fintech (financial technology) company focused on the diamond sector where the diamonds serve as collateral. We believe in using the inherent value of diamonds to provide financing in the industry. Finally, we offer smart logistics through our partnership with Malca-Amit. This means all diamonds on our platform are available 24/7, 365 days a year. JNA: What makes this initiative unique? Borhanjoo: We look at Uni not as a diamond trading platform but a fintech ecosystem. We obtain diamonds from partners around the world, place the stones on our platform and sell those downstream to retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers. We do quality control, validation and grading of every stone. When you trade within the ecosystem, any data within it will be shared with you at no additional charge to promote transparency in the trade. JNA: How does the financing work? Borhanjoo: Diamonds brought to Malca-Amit for Uni are graded based on about 34 unique parameters, which help us identify the stones’ pricing based on market indicators. Based on our costing, we will give the diamond seller 50 per cent upfront financing, which can be used as capital to aid its business or streamline operations. JNA: What are your other competitive advantages? Borhanjoo: We have a global sales team traveling around the world to analyse demand downstream. We can most likely get the stones to buyers in 24 to 48 hours if they request it. We’re minimising the waiting time and other challenges. Everything is fully insured through Malca-Amit. The grading is carried out by a third-party gemmological lab, which we’ll announce soon. The certification/traceability of the diamonds is done through Uni passports. We are also located in strategic places around the world – the US, Europe, Hong Kong, Israel and the Middle East. We positioned the diamonds where demand is strongest. Majority of the business is in the US and Hong Kong since the US and Asia still account for about 60 per cent of global demand. 鑽石業專家、 Uni Diamonds 首席執行官 Mahiar Borhanjoo 指， Uni Diamonds 鑽石貿易 網絡平台有四大支柱：一是平台本身，顯示鑽石價格和庫存；二是 Uni passport 鑽石認證 系統，提供鑽石資料如 4C 分級評估及來源地等資訊；三是 Uni capital 融資基金，向使用平 台的合作商戶提供達 50% 市價的預付貨款；四是與物流公司 Malca-Amit 合作提供的物流系 統，實現 365 日 24 小時全天候派送鑽石。 Borhanjoo 表示， Uni Diamonds 的獨特之處就是此四大支柱互相配合，旨在締造鑽石 業電子商貿生態系統。他就此四大支柱補充指，平台連繫世界各地的合作鑽石商與零售商、 珠寶製造商和批發商等鑽石買家； Uni Diamonds 將委任第三方實驗室以約 34 個參數指標評 鑑鑽石分級，並由平台內的 Uni passport 鑽石認證系統向買家免費提供鑽石證書和產權追 蹤、 Uni capital 融資基金根據鑽石分級釐定市價，向合作鑽石商提供預付貨款；平台的全球 銷售團隊根據鑽石需求實施彈性庫存，配合物流系統，每宗訂單大致都能於 24 至 48 小時內 送達。 現時 Uni Diamonds 已進駐美國、歐洲、香港、以色列和中東等環球策略據點， Borhanjoo 指，鑽石庫存依區域需求調整，美國和亞洲合計共佔全球需求約六成，所以該公 司在美國和香港的鑽石庫存量最大，隨著平台業務發展，物流服務的效率亦會有所提升。