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De Beers Consolidated Mine Ltd.

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1. What functions does the CSO perform as a global intermediary? How does these functions help expand the economic pie in the diamond industry?
Around 1930s De Beers bought up their bankrupted “single” consumer, London syndicate, and named it De Beers central selling organization (CSO), which was helping out De Beers as its:
• Wholly-owned distributor. CSO controlling around 80% of the world’s diamond supply. This strategy controlled De Beers’ vast supply and enabled to maintain its prices high. Such as, if a competitor offered diamonds on the market outside CSO, De Beers would be flooded the market with its diamond inventory. As De Beers’ main distribution arm, CSO continued to influence market’s supply and demand, and to purchase …show more content…

2. How does that expanded economic pie end up getting divided among the various players in the diamond industry? Why?
Through 1970s until 1980, there were several incidents which were threaten CSO and almost made De Beers lose its “monopoly” power (prices and supply) in diamonds industry, as followed:
• In the 1970s, the economic disruptions and high inflation had resulted to the speculative demand of diamonds. During this period, Israeli merchant hoarded diamonds in their inventory as investments, thus created a shortage and drove the prices up. De Beers no longer had control of the supply in the diamonds market, because once those hoards were disposed into market, the quantity could increased and prices fall rapidly.
• On the supply side, Zaire felt that the terms they were given by the CSO fell below their expectations and had not renewed the contract with CSO in 1981 in the hope to recover their own sales on the free market. But because of its low-grade diamonds, Zaire was in no position to push the price upwards. Hence, unfortunately they were opted to return as De Beer’s supplier.

• Another threat was coming from Australia’s mining, Argyle mine, which also confronted CSO in niche markets such as near-gem and industrial diamonds. They were insisted to operate in this market by generated its minerals’ production capacity more than 30 million by 1986 that the De Beers had never expected before.
• External market conditions that made

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