SMEs to sparkle at FACETS 2016

By Ruzaik Farook

The 26th edition of FACETS Sri Lanka, the annual international gem and jewellery show will focus on small and medium scale gem and jewellery enterprises this year with the introduction of a Gem and Jewellery Mart at the exhibition to be held from September 1 to 4 at the BMICH.

The Gem and Jewellery Mart will provide facilities to small and medium enterprises to showcase their best and rarest stones to an international market.

The Gem and Jewellery Mart will be akin to a unique B2B event as it would give the entrepreneurs an opportunity to interact with delegations and international buyers who will throng the show. Eighty international buyers have shown keen interest in participating in the show this year, the organizers said. Forty exhibitors will be accommodated at the new wing of the exhibition hall.

They will showcase their products at a venue that has been designed with the aesthetics and new trends in order to attract more people. "The registration process is now on. The objective of this latest venture is to give an opportunity to the regional gem merchants and jewellery associations who are unable to display their products in the main hall," a spokesman for the organizers said.

The gem and jewellery industry hopes to bring export earnings of USD one billion this year.

The FACETS organising committee said over 200 local and foreign exhibitors will showcase their gem and jewellery products at the event.

Over 10,000 visitors are expected to be present over the four-day international event which will also see a large number of high-profile and influential buyers from around the world.

Another feature of this year's event will be the 'Premier Jewellery Pavilion' which targets high-profile buyers and buying delegations, many of whom are expected to come from Europe this year.

The show is organised by the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association (SLGJA), the apex private sector organisation with the National Gem and Jewellery Authority and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board. It has been held annually in Colombo since 1991 with State and private sector patronage.