Economic News of the Year 2009

Benny Steinmetz is an international business personality who has made it big in the world of business and economy. He is now ranked at No. 583 in the Forbes List of Richest People and is worth at least USD 1.7 billion. In spite of all the economic downtime last year, Benny Steinmetz Group, also known as BSG Investments, had a wonderful year in terms of turnover and income.

Benny Steinmetz Group started off with diamonds. Later on, as the business expanded, the group got into other areas like natural resources, engineering, real estate and finance and asset management.

BSG – diamonds
The Steinmetz Diamond Group was founded by Ruben Steinmetz (Benny Steinmetz’s father) in 1940. Since Benny Steinmetz joined the group in 1978, he expanded this business to places like Mumbai, Namibia, Antwerp, Tel-Aviv, New York, Geneva, Chicago and Johannesburg. The Steinmetz Diamond Group, or SDG is one of the leading players in the world in the area of rough and large polished diamonds. The group exceeds USD 1.5 billion a year in turnover. The motto of the group is to reach out to the customer directly from the mine.

BSG – natural resources
The natural resources wing of Benny Steinmetz Group is called BSGR and for more than 10 years now, this group has been actively involved in the area of natural resources, with special emphasis on Africa. Among the many natural resources plants that the group operates, some of the most notable are
• It is the world’s largest Nickel producer through its Ferro-Nickel plant and mines in the Balkans.
• Iron ore mine in Guinea.
• Steel mill in Azerbaijan.
• Copper-Cobalt mines and smelting in Zambia.
• Diamond mine in Sierra Leone.

Benny Steinmetz Group also has another arm, the BSGE and through this arm, it plays in the energy sector. This group operates a phosphate project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, oil and gas exploration permit in the Komi Republic and the Niger Delta and a petrochemical project in Russia.

BSG – engineering
Benny Steinmetz Group holds majority shares in two major players in the field of engineering – Bateman Engineering N. V. and Bateman Litwin N. V. Through these two companies, the group is involved in minerals, metals, environmental treatment systems, bulk materials handling, solutions to oil, power, gas and chemical companies and so on.

BSG – real estate
Benny Steinmetz Group has its presence in the real estate arena through Five Mounts Properties. North America and Western Europe has been a significant focus area of the group for the past 15 years.

BSG– finance and asset management
Benny Steinmetz Group is an active player in portfolio and trading management. Benny Steinmetz himself was the founder of Hermitage Fund in Russia. This fund is a lead investor in the Russian equity market.