Addressing the WFDB General Assembly, PDE president Erez Akerman said that the 2006-established diamond exchange will be a valuable addition to WFDB, as it will open the vast and largely untapped markets of Latin America to its bourses' members.

“Members of the jewellery trade in Latin America will be able to buy and sell diamonds in an easy to reach, and secure and stable environment, where they can conduct their business comfortably in Spanish. To date they have had to travel massive distances to buy diamonds and jewellery, and this undoubtedly impacted the growth of the diamond markets in the region,” he also said.

“The business community in Panama has been aided by the fact that the US dollar is the country's official currency. Companies establishing businesses in the Panama duty free zone are largely exempt from paying taxes, meaning all profits earned from re-exportation are free of tax,” Akerman added.

WFDB was founded in 1947 to unite bourses trading in precious stones and rough and polished diamonds and to provide them with a common set of trading practices.