Blue Diamonds ups stake in Fior Drissage

By Dinali Goonewardene

The Board of Directors of Blue Diamonds Jewellery Worldwide Plc announced it had agreed to buy 406,800 shares of Fior Drissage Ltd., increasing its shareholding to 40%.

It previously held 16% of Fior Drissage Jewellers, which is listed on the company’s website as a distributor and a brand of floating diamond jewellery.

Fior Drissage Jewellery caters to the Sri Lankan market selling carbonlokd jewellery and other types of jewellery. The purchase was in line with an agreement between the two parties dated 24 June 2011 to subscribe to the shares which were subsequently given teeth at a board meeting.  Blue Diamonds Jewellery Worldwide has stated in its annual report that it provides knowhow to Fior Drissage in lieu of royalty and sends the distributor jewellery on a consignment basis to sell to the local market.

The company announced in a stock exchange filling at the end of June 2011 that it had executed an agreement with Fior Drissage, its associate company at the time, for a period of 15 years authorising it to manufacture jewellery using the carbonlokd (floating diamond) setting concept to cater to the local market exclusively.

It enabled Blue Diamonds to earn 5% of the labour value earned on jewellery manufactured and sold in Sri Lanka by Fior Drissage Jewellery and to any dividend declared on its equity stake of 16.67%.

The Directors of Fior Drissage include Godfrey de Kretser, K.V.D.D.A. Dias and M.M.N. Priyantha, who are Directors of Blue Diamonds.

Blue Diamonds shares fell 20 cents on Friday to close at Rs. 8.30 when 1.03 million shares traded while 4.2 million nonvoting shares traded with the share price remaining unchanged at Rs. 4.10.