The government’s new diamond valuer has challenged the big daddy of the diamond industry, writes Mungo Soggot
A row which could involve millions of rands of tax revenue is brewing between De Beers and the South African government’s official diamond valuer. The valuer has rejected De Beers’s evaluation of a consignment of rough diamonds due for export to the diamond giant’s London-based marketing arm.
It is the first time the valuer, known as the government diamond valuator (GDV), has questioned De Beers’s pricing policy and the move is being interpreted by some analysts as a test case.
The unprecedented challenge comes amid tension between De Beers and the state over the role and performance of the new valuer, which was appointed last November by the South African Diamond Board.
De Beers had a close relationship with the previous valuer, whose contract even stipulated that De Beers could vet its employees.
The GDV is supposed to advise civil servants on the arcane diamond industry as well as check the value of the $1-billion in rough diamonds South Africa produces annually.
The new GDV’s price challenge could significantly impact on the relationship between De Beers and the state, with potentially important tax implications: the amount De Beers pays in tax to the government stems from the value of the diamonds it exports to its marketing arm, the Central Selling Organisation (CSO).
The GDV has said the value of the diamond consignment in question is higher than that submitted by De Beers, and has refused to pass the export contract.
The diamonds came from a new joint venture between De Beers and a Canadian mining company, Southern Era, in the Northern Province. In terms of the agreement between the two companies, the CSO/De Beers buys the output from the mine, which is called Marsfontein.
The CSO controls about 70% of the world’s diamonds. As one of the world’s most successful cartels, it regulates diamond prices by manipulating the supply of diamonds to the market.
Moves are already afoot in sections of the local diamond industry close to De Beers to replace the current GDV. The GDV is controlled by a Belgian national, Claude Nobels, and chaired by the former head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s reparations committee, Hlengiwe Mkhize.
There are whispers in the industry that the GDV is not up to the job and staffed by inexperienced employees.
When approached for comment on the decision to reject the Marsfontein export contract, De Beers said: “A new government diamond valuer has been appointed and a few teething problems occurred. We are working hard to resolve the matter within the diamond industry.”
But the CEO of the South African Diamond Board, Victor Sibiya, said in an interview this week: “I am extremely happy with the GDV. It has my full support. One of the things the GDV has done is to bring home the idea of independent valuation.”
Sibiya rejected criticism of the GDV’s ability, saying it was “the most qualified team in the whole world”. Sibiya said the new GDV’s team had a collective experience of 200 years, compared with the 80 years enjoyed by the previous valuer, Proval.
Sibiya confirmed that diamond industry representatives who sat on key Diamond Board committees were seeking a nullification of the new GDV contract. “The GDV is appointed. There can be no going back on that.”
He said it was “ironic” that the same players now gunning for the GDV had been party to its selection by open tender last year.
Asked whether he was concerned that the previous GDV had not detected similar price differences, Sibiya said: “I think that question answers itself.”
Sibiya would not comment on Proval’s performance beyond saying, “We will undertake steps to check that these valuations met with the legal requirements.”
He also declined to comment on the clauses in Proval’s contract which gave De Beers influence over the former valuer.
One clause said: “No association agreement shall be amended or cancelled without the prior written consent of the board and De Beers.”
Another stated: “No member or employee of Proval shall perform any functions as a valuator under this agreement unless he or she has been recognised as a valuator of diamonds by the board and by De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited.”
Sibiya was reluctant to address the tax implications of the diamond valuations head on. When pressed, he said: “It is important that any company in South Africa must realise that there are certain state interests which cannot be superseded by any other interest.”
He added: “The process of guaranteeing the state’s interests is a primary concern of the GDV.”
Diamond Intelligence Briefs, the influential diamond industry newsletter which broke the news of the GDV’s move last week, said the GDV’s traditional role was to check that rough diamonds sorted for export from South Africa were consistent with the price categories set out in the CSO price list.
The newsletter said the GDV had in this case gone further by declaring that the “true market value of the Marsfontein goods is significantly higher than the so-called standard selling prices which appear in the CSO price book”.
But the newsletter concluded the clash was unlikely to trigger a “full-scale discussion about the role of the GDV and the mechanism through which the CSO sets its standard selling prices”.
It added: “Undoubtedly the situation is embarrassing to De Beers.” It said the GDV appeared to want to make a “test case” out of Marsfontein.
De Beers’s joint venture partner in Marsfontein, Southern Era, declined to comment beyond confirming the gist of the Diamond Intelligence Briefs report.