Glittering Performance

JEDDAH, 17 April 2003 — The Saudi gold and jewelry market achieved a four to six percent growth rate during the first quarter of this year, according to Ibrahim Al-Balawi, owner of the International Jewelry Center here. Speaking to Arab News after the opening of a new showroom at Heraa Market, he said the Kingdom’s jewelry market was not affected by the war in Iraq. The new showroom was established at a cost of SR26 million, he said, adding that about 40 percent of ornaments displayed there were produced at the company’s own factory. Saudi Arabia has become the third largest jewelry market in the world after the United States and Japan. The Kingdom’s jewelry sales are estimated at SR5 billion annually.