Surat: In an unprecedented move that has captured the corporate world’s attention, Vallabh Lakhani, a billionaire diamond businessman and the Chairman of Kiran Gems, is set to bid farewell to Mumbai, India’s financial capital, on November 21. Affectionately known as Vallabh Kaka, the Chairman of Kiran Gems, the world’s leading producer of natural diamonds in smaller sizes, is relocating to Surat. Notably, he is not embarking on this journey alone; he is leading approximately 1,200 employees to their new home.

Kiran Gems, with an annual turnover of Rs 17,000 crore, has long been a prominent player in the diamond industry. The company’s headquarters were located in Mumbai’s Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), occupying a substantial 12,000 square feet of space.

Furthermore, Kiran Gems holds the distinction of being the largest employer in the diamond industry worldwide, with approximately 48,000 highly skilled diamond artisans employed in its eight diamond factories, all situated in Surat.

To ensure the successful transition of his entire business empire to Surat and to accommodate the employees who have been a part of Kiran Gems for the past two decades, Lakhani has built 2BHK apartments on a 40,000-square-yard property in Jiav village, Surat. This location is just a 10-minute drive away from the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB), situated here on Palsana-Hazira State Highway 168.

The residential project ‘Kiran Avenue’ is now fully operational and prepared to welcome the diamond assorters and their families from Mumbai. Their move to Surat is scheduled to coincide with the inauguration of Kiran Gems’ 1.17 lakh square feet of office space in SDB on November 21.

The decision to relocate a business empire of this magnitude from Mumbai to Surat is a historic and unprecedented move in India’s corporate history. Vallabh Lakhani, who also serves as the Chairperson of the Surat Diamond Bourse project, emphasised, “First, we constructed the world’s largest diamond bourse in Khajod, and simultaneously, we built apartments for our employees in Mumbai.” The Kiran Avenue residential project is ready, and soon our employees from Mumbai will move in here, he added.

This residential project is meticulously designed to meet all the essential needs of Diamond employees and their families. The fully-furnished 2BHK apartments come equipped with PNG pipelines and water connections, and the complex includes an expansive shopping centre and a dedicated canteen to cater to the employees’ every requirement.

Vallabh Lakhani stressed the profound influence of leadership, stating, “People follow their leader. Kiran Gems’ office in Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) will be closed after the Diwali festival.”

It’s noteworthy that several other diamond companies in Mumbai are following Kiran Gems in undertaking this significant transition.

Vallabh Lakhani, addressing the move from Mumbai, explained, “We are not compelling anyone to shift from Mumbai to Surat. We are simply offering the opportunity for diamond companies to benefit from a richer social life, a substantial reduction in travel time (from two hours to just 15 minutes), more affordable real estate properties (at one-third the cost of Mumbai), and, most significantly, a direct reduction of 3-4% in the prices of polished diamonds.”

In a bold move, the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) has set a polished diamond export target of Rs 4 lakh crore per annum by 2025. Diamond trading at the SDB is officially scheduled to commence on November 21, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to inaugurate this groundbreaking institution on December 17. DeshGujarat

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