The 2019 Mid-Year Gems Emporium kicked off at Mani Yadana Jade Hall in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday morning.

The emporium will be held until 25 September and it is 95th event as Myanmar started holding gems emporiums since 1964.

Vice President U Henry Van Thio visited the emporium, together with Union Minister Dr Aung Thu, Dr Than Myint and U Ohn Win; Nay Pyi Taw Council Chairman Dr Myo Aung, Amyotha Hluttaw Resources and Environmental Conservation Committee Chairman U Kyaw Thiha, Deputy Minister Dr Ye Myint Swe, members of Hluttaws, Myanmar Gems Emporium Central Committee members, Myanmar Gems and Jewellery Entrepreneurs Association, local and foreign gems merchants, media and dignitaries.

The event was introduced with a video clip to the Vice President and the attendees before they looked around the displays of jade and jewellery lots, the exhibition booths and raw jade lots outside the hall.

A total of 6,865 merchants from 26 countries were invited to the emporium where raw jades, finished jade products, finished gems and jade-like stones are being put on sale under the open tender system. Jewelleries, statuettes, crystals and mosaic pictures will be sold at the emporium.

The local merchants will have to pay their deposits in Myanmar kyat, and their foreign counterparts in euro currency at 2,000 for the purchase of jewellery lots and 20,000 for jade lots.

The bottom price for raw jade lots is 5,000 Euro and above, while that of finished jade lots 1,000 Euro and above. The merchants are permissible to make bids for the lots up to the value of the 10-fold of the minimum deposit paid by the types of gemstones.

The sales of products and the specific dates in open tender system would be 481 jewellery lots on 19 September, jade lot number from 1 to 1311 on 20 September, jade lot number from 1312 to 2611 on 21 September, jade lot number from 2612 to 3911 on 22 September, jade lot number from 3912 to 5211 on 23 September, jade lot number from 5212 to 6511 on 24 September and jade lot number from 6512 to 7811 on 25 September. The taxes will be levied for state revenue in accordance with the Union Tax Law, and service charges have been fixed at 3 per cent for raw jewelleries and 1 per cent for finished jewelleries. — MNA (Translated by Aung Khin)