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CNN: Big Tech Scrambles for Israeli Firms

 

1.  Apple acquired Israel’s gesture recognition company, PrimeSense, for $350MN (Globes Business Daily, November 24, 2013).

2.  Mexican billionaire, Carlos Slim: “The Slim Group will take part in additional investments in Israel. We like to have our finger on the pulse of new technologies, and Israel is a world leader in this field.  We are interested in Israeli technology developments.”  Earlier this month, Slim’s Am‚rica M¢vil SAB de CV participated in a $60MN round of private placement by Israel’s Mobli, which developed a mobile social network photo and video-sharing platform (Globes, Nov. 28),

3.  CNN, November 22, 2013:  Technology companies are on a shopping spree in Israel, spending billions on ever larger deals and fueling the country’s startup success story. Greater Tel Aviv is a home to a vibrant tech start-up scene, second only to Silicon Valley.  Microsoft, Google and Cisco have large R&D offices in the area.  GoogleAppleIntelIBM and Cisco have been involved in a spate of high-profile acquisitions over the past two years, scouring the country for the next big thing…. Since 1998, Cisco has made 11 acquisitions and invested in 22 start-ups in Israel….


Dealogic data shows a big increase in activity in the sector, with nearly $4 billion in acquisitions of registered Israeli tech firms since 2012. But given this figure only includes deals where a valuation is made public — and most deals are kept private — the overall tally is likely to be much higher.
  Zack Weisfeld, an executive at Microsoft in Israel, estimates that about $13 billion in Israeli tech acquisitions have been completed since the start of 2012….


Last month, Facebook bought the Israeli start-up, Onavo, for $200MN. In June, Google acquired the popular social mapping firm, Waze, for $1BN. Two months later IBM acquired Trusteer, a fraud prevention company, for $1BN.  Apple bought PrimeSense, known for its 3D sensors, for $345MN…. In Israel, most people are required to join the military after high school, gaining early exposure to advanced technology, and sometimes developing high-tech communication and defense systems…. The Israeli government offers grants, loans and tax breaks to encourage new tech firms and research and development….  The uncertain environment in the Middle East has played a role in developing a culture of adaptability and risk-taking.”


4.  India Economic Times (Nov 8, 2013): “The presence of thousands of startups, and more engineers per capita than anywhere else in the world, makes Israel a natural hub for innovation…. Best known for defense and military-inspired technologies, entrepreneurs across the nation are now focused on building the next generation of healthcare applications…. Using artificial intelligence and digital technology, they are creating applications for diagnostics, tools for the visually, physically and mentally challenged as well as products that can improve agricultural output…. They have created a device that can be clipped onto spectacles, making it possible for a blind person to read, find an item, catch a bus or cross the road.

Israel’s R&D expenditure account for approximately 5% of the country’s $260BN GDP, higher than any western country. This excludes defense R&D.

There are also around 300 multinational companies in the country which are a big part of the ecosystem. Many of them, including Apple, Google, Intel, Microsoft, General Motors, and GE have set up research and development facilities in Israel to use the local talent and come up with breakthroughs.

Per capita, Israel has attracted over twice as much venture capital investment as the US and 30 times more than the entire European Union.  In 2012, merger & acquisition (M & A) deals involving Israeli and Israel-related companies were valued at $9.74 billion, an 88% increase from $5.2 billion in 2011, according to Israel’s IVC Research Center database. Israel has 135 engineers, scientists and PhDs per 10,000 people in the work force, the highest in the world.

5.  The OECD:  Israel is among the world’s strongest economies, overcoming financial turbulence.  Israel’s economic growth is projected at 3.7% and 3.4% for 2013 and 2014 respectively (including 1% related to natural gas) and 4.5% for 2015.  The budget deficit is expected to decline to 3% in 2014 and 2.5% in 2015           (The Marker, November 19, 2013). 

 




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Straight from the Jerusalem Boardroom #248
https://bit.ly/3u29k9g

Foreign investment in Israel’s high-tech companies surged to new heights in the 1st quarter of 2021 – $5.7bn in 172 deals – which is up 89% over the impressive 4th quarter of 2020 and double the volume of the 1st quarter of 2020.

2020 was the first year of surpassing $10bn in capital raised by the Israeli high-tech sector from investors in the US, Asia and Europe, who trust the maturity of Israel’s brain power. Investments in Israeli companies more than tripled in six years, reflecting the effective response by Israeli startups to the technological, medical, pharmaceutical, educational, social and digital challenges posed by Covid-19.

Israel’s economic performance in defiance of Covid-19 is presented by Dr. Adam Reuter, the Chairman and Founder of “Financial Immunities,” Israel’s largest financial-risk management firm, and the co-author of Israel – Island of Success:

  1. Israel has led the globe in the rapid administration of Covid-19 vaccinations due to effective negotiations with Pfizer and an efficient, country-wide medical infrastructure.
  2. Israel is the second lowest among OECD countries in the number of Covid-19 deaths per number of Covid-19 cases: 0.7% compared to the 2.3% OECD average. Israel features a young population (median age of 30 compared to the OECD’s 42) and an effective country-wide medical infrastructure, including top level HMOs and hospitals.
  3. Israel is ranked 12th from the bottom among the 37 OECD countries in the number of deaths per million inhabitants: 645 compared to 1,145 OECD average.
  4. The International Monetary Fund’s 2025 GDP growth forecast for OECD countries: Israel – 4%, OECD average – 2.2%, US – 1.8%, Australia – 2.5%, Ireland – 2.6%, France and Canada – 1.7%, the UK – 1.6%, Germany – 1.2%, etc.
  5. Israel’s 2020 GDP was reduced by 2.5%, compared to the OECD average reduction of 4.1%, South Korea – 1%, Norway – 0.8%, Australia – 2.6%, US – 3.5%, Japan – 4.8%, Germany – 5%, France – 8%, the UK – 10% reduction, etc. GDP growth was recorded in New Zealand – 2.4% and Ireland – 3.5%.
  6. In 2020, Israel was ranked 20th among the 37 members of the OECD in terms of GDP per capita, featuring $43,000 (GDP – $408bn), ahead of Japan, Italy and Spain, and very close behind the UK ($44,000) and France ($45,000).
  7. Israel’s debt-to-GDP ratio increased from 60% in 2019 to 72% in 2020, compared to the OECD’s average increase from 66% to 82%. The 2020’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 266% in Japan, Italy – 161%, the US – 131%, Germany – 73%, etc.
  8. Israel’s foreign exchange reserves-to-GDP ratio of 41% (3rd among the OECD countries) attests to its financial stability, and Israel’s capability to raise foreign credit promptly in a cost-effective manner. Israel’s foreign exchange reserves in March 2021 – $186bn.
  9. During the past decade, Standard and Poor (S&P) accorded Israel a positive credit rating trend, unlike the negative trend for the G-7 countries. In 2020, notwithstanding Covid-19, Israel’s credit rating (S&P) remained at AA.
  10. Some 380 global high-tech giants operate in Israel, including Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, Intel, Cisco, Apple, Verizon, Applied Materials, Dell, HP, Kodak, Oracle, Philips, SAP, Medtronics, GM, eBay, GE, etc. Israel leads the world in the ratio of research and development investment to GDP: 4.9%. 85% of this investment comes from the business sector.

 




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