President Avi Paz of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) began a tour of the world's diamond markets on Thursday, to discuss the effect of the global financial crisis on the industry in his role as President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses. The IDE has laid off hundreds of workers in recent weeks due to the plummeting prices of diamonds caused by the global recession

His first stop is Hong Kong, where a summit of market heads from the host city, as well as Bangkok, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo, has been scheduled for next Wednesday. Paz said it was important to start the series of meetings in the growing Eastern Asian markets.