Facebook Feed

3 weeks ago

Yoram Ettinger
Purim Guide for the Perplexed 2023: bit.ly/3ZdlxHY ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

3 weeks ago

Yoram Ettinger
אתגר מרכזי לביטחון לאומי: bit.ly/3xkSwh1 ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

3 weeks ago

Yoram Ettinger
US-sponsored anti-Israel UN Security Council statement - acumen: bit.ly/3lVqpCM ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

Some of the Reasons to Invest in Israel

1.  According to TopForeignStocks.com (May 2, 2010), Some of the reasons to invest in Israel are:

*The banking sector remained stable during the global credit crisis and emerged strong last year. Unlike many banks in the West, none of the banks had any large sub-prime exposure and needed to be bailed out by the state. The five largest banks – Hapoalim group, Bank Leumi Bank, Discount Bank, Mizrahi-Tfahot Bank group and First International Bank – are all well capitalized and their capital adequacy ratio is much higher than the minimum required by Basel standards.

*Israel runs a current account surplus. In 2009, the current account soared 243% to $7.2 billion.

*By the end of this month MSCI will upgrade Israel to a developed market [OECD]. Hence Israel will join this select group of 23 other developed countries in the index.

*The high-tech industry forms a large part of the Israeli economy. While Germany is known for engineering, Israel can be called as a high-tech powerhouse. Some have called the incredible growth of the hi-tech industry in a short period of time as a hi-tech miracle. The country is a global leader in many hi-tech sectors such as electronics, generic pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and aeronautics. Export of products by the hi-tech industry has grown at an annual rate of 8.5% in the last five years. In March 2010, the sector brought in $2.1B in export revenue. In the manufacturing sector, sale of hi-tech products forms the largest source of export revenue as the chart for 2008 shows below


*Israel has the largest number of companies listed on the NASDAQ than any other country except Canada. This is very significant considering the country’s population is relatively small compared to many other countries such as India, China, Brazil, UK, France, etc.


*A December, 2009 Bank of America Merrill Lynch report titled “Playing Defense” recommended Israel as an attractive investment destination and recommended companies especially in the banks and telecom sector. According to Merrill Lynch, some of the reasons for investing in Israel were the strong currency vs. the US dollar, the resilient economic performance among other emerging markets and the strong leadership performance shown by The Bank of Israel and Israel’s Ministry of Finance in handling the economy.


*The rate of investment in research and development as percentage of GDP in Israel is the highest in the world. High R&D spending coupled with a highly skilled and educated workforce spawns hundreds of start-ups producing many successful commercial products. Israel has the highest number of scientists and engineers per capita in the world. Hence one of the areas where Israel excels compared to other OECD countries is the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector which forms a considerable portion of exports. Little wonder that after Silicon Valley, Israel has the highest concentration of start-ups anywhere in the world.


*Many of Israel’s leading multinational companies weathered the credit crisis and continue to expand both domestically and abroad. Companies like Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA), the world’s largest generic drug maker, generate most of their earnings from overseas markets. The Top 25 Israeli multinationals had over US $40B in foreign sales including exports) in 2008. The top five firms in this category are Israel Corporation, Elco Holdings, Teva, Amdocs (DOX) and Ormat (ORA).


*Some of the other factors that make Israel an attractive destination for investment are: general government consumption accounts for a small portion of the total GDP, relative low unemployment rate, stable and growing housing market, very low growth in debt to GDP during 2009, the Tel-Aviv 25 Index beating the S&P 500 over the last five years, etc.

2.  The $1.8BN NY-based private equity fund, Pegasus Capital Advisors, has increased its Israel-dedicated fund by $150MN, focusing on water technologies, alternative energy and homeland security technologies.  Pegasus invested $100MN in Israeli companies during 2005-8, acquiring controlling interest in 5 companies (Globes business daily, April 5, 2010).


3.  The European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), which supports exceptional R&D projects, awarded 17MN Euros to 34 Israeli companies and researchers. The total received by Israeli companies and academic researchers, from the FP7 amounts to 290MN Euros (Globes, May 3).


4.  Canada’s Enablence has acquired Israel’s Teledata for $50MN (Globes, April 16).  Google made its 1st Israeli acquisition – LabPixies for $25MN (April 28).




Videos

The post-1967 turning point of US-Israel cooperation

Israeli benefits to the US taxpayer exceed US foreign aid to Israel

Iran - A Clear And Present Danger To The USA

Exposing the myth of the Arab demographic time bomb

Israel’s Covid-19 Economic Trends

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.

 




Videos

The post-1967 turning point of US-Israel cooperation

Israeli benefits to the US taxpayer exceed US foreign aid to Israel

Iran - A Clear And Present Danger To The USA

Exposing the myth of the Arab demographic time bomb