MIRA INFORM REPORT

 

 

Report Date :

23.08.2013

 

IDENTIFICATION DETAILS

 

Name :

STS  GEMS  LTD.

 

 

Registered Office :

Unit 614, 6/F., Heng Ngai Jewellery Center, 4, Hok Yuen Street East, Hunghom, Kowloon,

 

 

Country :

Hong Kong

 

 

Date of Incorporation :

02.05.1986.

 

 

Com. Reg. No.:

10284458

 

 

Legal Form :

Private Limited Company

 

 

Line of Business :

Trader of all kinds of diamonds and gemstones.

 

 

No. of Employees :

8.  (Including associate)

 

RATING & COMMENTS

 

MIRA’s Rating :

B

 

RATING

STATUS

PROPOSED CREDIT LINE

26-40

B

Capability to overcome financial difficulties seems comparatively below average.

Small

 

Status :

Moderate

Payment Behaviour :

Slow but correct

Litigation :

Clear

 

 

NOTES :

Any query related to this report can be made on e-mail: infodept@mirainform.com while quoting report number, name and date.

 

ECGC Country Risk Classification List – March 31st, 2013

 

Country Name

Previous Rating

(31.12.2012)

Current Rating

(31.03.2013)

Hong Kong

A2

A2

 

Risk Category

ECGC Classification

Insignificant

 

A1

Low

 

A2

Moderate

 

B1

High

 

B2

Very High

 

C1

Restricted

 

C2

Off-credit

 

D

 


 

HONG KONG - ECONOMIC OVERVIEW

 

Hong Kong has a free market economy, highly dependent on international trade and finance - the value of goods and services trade, including the sizable share of re-exports, is about four times GDP. Hong Kong levies excise duties on only four commodities, namely: hard alcohol, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil, and methyl alcohol. There are no quotas or dumping laws. Hong Kong's open economy left it exposed to the global economic slowdown that began in 2008. Although increasing integration with China, through trade, tourism, and financial links, helped it to make an initial recovery more quickly than many observers anticipated, it again faces a possible slowdown as exports to the Euro zone and US slump. The Hong Kong government is promoting the Special Administrative Region (SAR) as the site for Chinese renminbi (RMB) internationalization. Hong Kong residents are allowed to establish RMB-denominated savings accounts; RMB-denominated corporate and Chinese government bonds have been issued in Hong Kong; and RMB trade settlement is allowed. The territory far exceeded the RMB conversion quota set by Beijing for trade settlements in 2010 due to the growth of earnings from exports to the mainland. RMB deposits grew to roughly 9.1% of total system deposits in Hong Kong by the end of 2012, an increase of 59% from the previous year. The government is pursuing efforts to introduce additional use of RMB in Hong Kong financial markets and is seeking to expand the RMB quota. The mainland has long been Hong Kong's largest trading partner, accounting for about half of Hong Kong's exports by value. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. As a result of China's easing of travel restrictions, the number of mainland tourists to the territory has surged from 4.5 million in 2001 to 34.9 million in 2012, outnumbering visitors from all other countries combined. Hong Kong has also established itself as the premier stock market for Chinese firms seeking to list abroad. In 2012 mainland Chinese companies constituted about 46.6% of the firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and accounted for about 57.4% of the Exchange's market capitalization. During the past decade, as Hong Kong's manufacturing industry moved to the mainland, its service industry has grown rapidly. Growth slowed to 5% in 2011, and less than 2% in 2012. Credit expansion and tight housing supply conditions caused Hong Kong property prices to rise rapidly and inflation to rise 4.1% in 2012. Lower and middle income segments of the population are increasingly unable to afford adequate housing. Hong Kong continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining an arrangement established in 1983.

Source : CIA


Company name and address

 

STS  GEMS  LTD.

 

 

ADDRESS:       Unit 614, 6/F., Heng Ngai Jewellery Center, 4, Hok Yuen Street East, Hunghom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

 

PHONE:            852-2367 5066

 

FAX:                 852-2739 4982

 

E-MAIL:            info@stsgems.com.hk

 

 

MANAGEMENT

 

Managing Director:  Mr. Sunil Agrawal

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Incorporated on:            2nd May, 1986.

 

Organization:                 Private Limited Company.

 

Capital:                         Nominal:           HK$10,000,000.00

Issued:             HK$8,750,000.00

 

Business Category:       Diamond & Gemstone Trader.

 

Group Revenue:             INR 9,305.6 million  (Year ended 31-03-2013)

 

Employees:                  8.  (Including associate)

 

Main Dealing Banker:     Bank of Baroda, Hong Kong Branch, Hong Kong.

 

Banking Relation:          Good.


ADDRESS

 

Registered Head Office:-

Unit 614, 6/F., Heng Ngai Jewellery Center, 4, Hok Yuen Street East, Hunghom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

 

Holding Company:-

Vaibhav Global Ltd., India.

[Formerly known as: Vaibhav Gems Ltd.]

 

Associated Companies:-

Genoa Jewelers (St. Kitts) Ltd., West Indies.

Genoa Jewelers Ltd., British Virgin Islands.

Indo Mexico Co. S. De R.L De C.V., Mexico.

Jewel Gem USA Inc., US.

STS Creations Thai Ltd., Thailand.

STS Gems Japan Ltd., Japan.

STS Gems Thai Ltd., Thailand.

STS Gems USA Inc., USA.

STS Holdings Ltd., Hong Kong.

STS Jewels Inc., US.

The Jewellery Channel Inc., US.

The Jewellery Channel Ltd., UK.

 

 

BUSINESS REGISTRATION NUMBER

 

10284458

 

 

COMPANY FILE NUMBER

 

0168685

 

 

MANAGEMENT

 

Managing Director:  Mr. Sunil Agrawal

 

 

CAPITAL

 

Nominal Share Capital: HK$10,000,000.00 (Divided into 100,000 shares of HK$100.00 each)

 

Issued Share Capital: HK$8,750,000.00

 


SHAREHOLDER

(As per registry dated 02-05-2013)

 

Name

 

No. of shares

Vaibhav Global Ltd.

[Formerly Known as: Vaibhav Gems Ltd.]

K-6B, Fateh Tiba, Adarsh Nagar Jaipur, Rajasthan 302005, India.

 

87,500

=====

 

 

DIRECTORS

(As per registry dated 02-05-2013)

 

Name

(Nationality)

 

Address

Rizwan ULLAH

House No. 722, Mohalla Patetan Kazi, Ka Nala, Ghat Gate, Jaipur, Rajastha, India.

 

Sunil AGRAWAL

6/F., Po Yuk Building, 61 Robinson Road, Hong Kong.

 

 

SECRETARY

(As per registry dated 02-05-2013)

 

Name

Address

Co. No.

Lodestar Secretaries Ltd.

13/F., Wah Kit Commercial Centre, 302 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong.

0113023

 

 

HISTORY

 

The subject was incorporated on 2nd May, 1986 as a private limited liability company under the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance.

Apart from these, neither material change nor amendment has been ever traced and noted.

 

 

OPERATIONS

 

Activities:                      Diamond & Gemstone Trader.

 

Lines:                           All kinds of diamonds and gemstones.

 

Employees:                  8.  (Including associate)

 

Commodities Imported: India, other Asian countries, etc.

 

Markets:                        Hong Kong, China, other Asian countries, Europe, etc.

 

Group Revenue:            INR 5,375.0 million  (Year ended 31-03-2011)

INR 6,748.2 million  (Year ended 31-03-2012)

INR 9,305.6 million  (Year ended 31-03-2013)

 

Terms/Sales:                 L/C or as per contracted.

 

Terms/Buying:               As per contracted.

 

 

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Nominal Share Capital: HK$10,000,000.00 (Divided into 100,000 shares of HK$100.00 each)

 

Issued Share Capital:     HK$8,750,000.00

 

Mortgage or Charge:      (See attachment)

 

Group Net Profit/(Loss):            INR 431.0 million  (Year ended 31-03-2011)

INR 685.1 million  (Year ended 31-03-2012)

(INR 856.1 million) (Year ended 31-03-2013)

 

Group Profit or Loss:    Group suffered from a great loss in FY2013.

 

Condition:                     Keeping in a satisfactory manner.

 

Facilities:                      Making rather active use of general banking facilities.

 

Payment:                      Slow but correct.

 

Commercial Morality:     Satisfactory.

 

Banker:                         Bank of Baroda, Hong Kong Branch, Hong Kong.

 

Standing:                      Small.

 

 

GENERAL

 

STS Gems Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vaibhav Global Ltd. [Vaibhav/Group] which is an India-based firm.  The old name of Vaibhav was Vaibhav Gems Ltd.  The name was changed on 29th November, 2012.

Vaibhav has had a subsidiary known as STS Jewels Inc.  The subject belongs to STS group of companies.

STS Group with headquarters in Austin, TX is amongst the better-known organizations in the colour gemstones and jewellery industry.  Tanzanite Jewellery is STS Group’s specialty.  So does the subject.

STS Group has a reservoir of over 1,800 skilled and trained employee worldwide.  This includes resources in designing, manufacturing and distribution of jewellery and gemstones.

The subject has had an associated factory in Panyu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China.

Based in Rajasthan, India, Vaibhav is a listed firm in India.  Incorporated in Jaipur, India in 1989, Vaibhav is today a professionally managed, end-to-end vertically integrated business organization.

Vaibhav started as a gemstone manufacturer and then in 1996-97, as a forward integration.  It came out with IPO to establish a jewellery‑manufacturing unit for export of gem-studded gold jewellery.  First unit was set up at Adarsh Nagar Jaipur in 1997.  In the year 1999, it set up a new 100% Export Oriented Unit at Export Promotion Industrial Area, Sitapura, Jaipur.  In 2002 it installed an Italian micro-weight gold chain manufacturing plant.

The subject is engaged in outsourcing products for the Group and also marketing jewellery products throughout the world.

The subject is one of the members of the STS Group.

STS Group with headquarters in Austin, TX (STS Jewels Inc.) is amongst the better-known organizations in the colour gemstones and jewellery industry.  Tanzanite Jewellery is STS Group’s specialty.

STS has over 1,800 skilled and trained employee worldwide.  These include professionals engaged in designing, manufacturing and distribution of jewellery and gemstones.

Besides the subject, STS Group has an extensive Product Development team and infrastructure spread over New York, Bangkok and India.

From a humble beginning, the group has steadily expanded to be one of the most vertically integrated jewellery companies in the world.  Today, the group has four plants in India and Thailand engaged in gemstone cutting and jewellery manufacturing, using casting and stamping operations.  The latest addition is a state of art micro-weight rope chain manufacturing plant.

For the year ended 31st March, 2012, the revenues of the Group amounted to INR 9,305.6 million (2012: INR 6,748.2 million), Group made a great loss of INR 856.1 million (2011: Net Profit was INR 685.1 million).  The Group had entered “Corporate Debt Restructuring Mechanism”.  However, in April 2013 it exited CDRM.

According to the Group, it is taking measures and issues to prevent further losing in FY 2014.

The subject is fully supported by the Group.  History in Hong Kong is over 27 years.

The director of the subject Mr. Sunil Agrawal is also the Chairman of the Group.

On the whole, consider the subject good for normal business engagements.

 

 

REMARK

 

Brief personal profile of the principal director:

Mr. Sunil Agrawal is the chairman of the Vaibhav Group of companies which is the parent company of STS Jewels Inc.  Being a native of Jaipur, India, Agrawal received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Rajasthan in India, and his Executive MBA from Columbia University, New York.  He founded the Vaibhav Group of companies in 1980 in Jaipur, India, and it remains one of the world’s few fully integrated jewellery companies.  Agrawal has been instrumental in commercialization of gemstones such as Tanzanite, Pink Tourmaline, and Fire Opal and in the development of the Tanzanite Protocol, the voluntary code of conduct for the gemstone trade.  He is a board member and past president of the Indian Diamond & Colored Gemstone Association.

 

 


MORTGAGE OR CHARGE

 

Date

Particulars

Amount

25-07-2006

Instrument:        Memorandum

Property:

Distinctive
No. of Receipts Date of Issue    Amount Due Date

TD 1065            14-07-2006        120,285.00        16-10-2006

TD 1077            21-07-2006          80,000.00        23-10-2006

Mortgagee:        Bank of Baroda, Hong Kong Branch.

Loan or credit or other facilities

27-09-2007

Instrument:        Memorandum

Property:

Distinctive
No. of Receipts Date of Issue    Amount             Due Date

91220300000036            15-07-2007        US$126517.03   15-10-2007

91220300000054            22-07-2007        US$84144.84     20-10-2007

Mortgagee:        Bank of Baroda, Hong Kong Branch.

Loan or credit or other facilities

22-04-2010

Instrument:        Memorandum

Property:

No. of Receipts Date of Issue    Amount             Due Date

91220300000036            03-01-2010        US$136,328.00              01-01-2011

91220300000367            06-10-2009        US$270,660,07              05-10-2010

91220300000379            27-10-2009        US$42,884,75    26-10-2010

91220300000975            12-07-2009        US$65,284.01    11-07-2010

Mortgagee:        Bank of Baroda, Hong Kong Branch.

Loan or credit or other facilities

 


DIAMOND INDUSTRY – INDIA

 

-            From time immemorial, India is well known in the world as the birthplace for diamonds.  It is difficult to trace the origin of diamonds but history says that in the remote past, diamonds were mined only in India. Diamond production in India can be traced back to almost 8th Century B.C.  India, in fact, remained undisputed leader till 18th Century when Brazilian fields were discovered in 1725 followed by emergence of S. Africa, Russia and Australia.

-            The achievement of the Indian diamond industry was possible only due to combination of the manufacturing skills of the Indian workforce and the untiring and unflagging efforts of the Indian diamantaires, supported by progressive Government policies.

-            The area of study of family owned diamond businesses derives its importance from the huge conglomerate of family run organizations which operate in the diamond industry since many generations.

-            Some of the basic traits of family run business enterprises include spirit of entrepreneurship, mutual trust lowers transaction costs, small, nimble and quick to react, information as a source of advantage and philanthropy.

-            Family owned diamond businesses need to improve on many fronts including higher standard of corporate governance, long-term performance – focused strategies, modern management and technology.

-            Utmost caution is to be exercised while dealing with some medium and large diamond traders which are usually engaged in fictitious import – export, inter-company transactions, financially assisted by banks. In the process, several public sector banks lost several hundred million rupees. They mostly diverted borrowed money for diamond business into real estate and capital markets.

-            Excerpts from Times of India dated 30th October 2010 is as under –

 

-            Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council in its statistical data has shown the export of polished diamonds to have increase by 28 % in February 2013. Compared to $ 1.4 bn worth of polished diamond export in February, 2012, India exported $ 1.84 billion worth of polished diamonds in February 2013. A senior executive of GJEPC said, “Export of cut and polished diamonds started falling month-wise after the imposition of 2 % of import duty on the polished diamonds. But February, 2013 has given a new ray of hope to the industry as the export of polished diamonds has actually increased by 28 %. It means the industry  is on the track of recovery and round tripping of diamonds has stopped completely.” Demand has started coming from the US, the UK, Japan and China. India’s polished diamond export is expected to cross $ 21 bn in 2013-14.

 

-            The banking sector has started exercising restraint while following prudent risk management norms when lending money to gems and jewellery sector. This follows the implementation of Basel III accord – a global voluntary regulatory standard on bank capital adequacy, stress testing and market liquidity.

 

 


 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES

 

Currency

Unit

Indian Rupees

US Dollar

1

Rs.65.42

UK Pound

1

Rs.102.09

Euro

1

Rs.87.32

 

 

INFORMATION DETAILS

 

Report Prepared by :

PRL

 

 

RATING EXPLANATIONS

 

RATING

STATUS

 

 

PROPOSED CREDIT LINE

>86

Aaa

Possesses an extremely sound financial base with the strongest capability for timely payment of interest and principal sums

 

Unlimited

71-85

Aa

Possesses adequate working capital. No caution needed for credit transaction. It has above average (strong) capability for payment of interest and principal sums

 

Large

56-70

A

Financial & operational base are regarded healthy. General unfavourable factors will not cause fatal effect. Satisfactory capability for payment of interest and principal sums

 

Fairly Large

41-55

Ba

Overall operation is considered normal. Capable to meet normal commitments.

 

Satisfactory

26-40

B

Capability to overcome financial difficulties seems comparatively below average.

 

Small

11-25

Ca

Adverse factors are apparent. Repayment of interest and principal sums in default or expected to be in default upon maturity

 

Limited with full security

<10

C

Absolute credit risk exists. Caution needed to be exercised

 

 

Credit not recommended

--

NB

New Business

 

--

 

This score serves as a reference to assess SC’s credit risk and to set the amount of credit to be extended. It is calculated from a composite of weighted scores obtained from each of the major sections of this report. The assessed factors and their relative weights (as indicated through %) are as follows:

 

Financial condition (40%)            Ownership background (20%)                  Payment record (10%)

Credit history (10%)                   Market trend (10%)                                Operational size (10%)

 

PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL : This information is provided to you at your request, you having employed MIPL for such purpose. You will use the information as aid only in determining the propriety of giving credit and generally as an aid to your business and for no other purpose. You will hold the information in strict confidence, and shall not reveal it or make it known to the subject persons, firms or corporations or to any other. MIPL does not warrant the correctness of the information as you hold it free of any liability whatsoever. You will be liable to and indemnify MIPL for any loss, damage or expense, occasioned by your breach or non observance of any one, or more of these conditions

This report is issued at your request without any risk and responsibility on the part of MIRA INFORM PRIVATE LIMITED (MIPL) or its officials.