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Israel’s Economic Growth Highest in Western World By Scott Shiloh With the past year’s economic growth following GDP gains in 2004 of 4.4%, Israel produces nearly 10% more goods and services than it did just two years ago. Though not rising as fast as some developing countries, like those in the Far East, growth in Israel’s GDP now exceeds that of half the world’s industrialized nations.... Not surprisingly, foreign investment, one of the major components of economic growth, set a record level this year, peaking at $11.5 billion. The level for 2005 exceeded the previous record set in 2000, just before the Oslo War sent the economy into deep recession. Foreign investment in Israel has been rising steadily since 2003, when it totaled $5.9 billion. In 2004, that number grew to $7.4 billion, and jumped to $11.5 billion in 2005. (IsraelNationalNews .com January 1, 2006)
As a public service, Arutz Sheva provides below the May newsletter from the Finance Ministry's ONE OF AMERICA'S GREATEST INVESTORS WARREN BUFFETT IN HIS LARGEST INVESTMENT OUTSIDE U.S., BUYS 80% OF ISCAR FOR $4 BILLION Buffett: "Iscar is an amazing company run by amazing people. I don't get many opportunities to invest in companies like that." Warren Buffett, labeled the biggest investment guru of all time and his investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. announced an agreement to buy 80% of Israeli company Iscar Ltd. for $4 billion. Iscar Metalworking Companies (IMC) is an industry leader in the metal cutting tools business through its Iscar, TaeguTec, Ingersoll and other IMC group companies. It is owned by the Wertheimer family with operations worldwide. The deal is the largest acquisition ever by Buffett outside the U.S. and the third largest investment ever made by Berkshire. Buffett said that his investment in Iscar and its management would prove to be one of the most significant things Berkshire had ever done. Talking about Israel, Buffett said that Israel has "amazing people. We are investing $4 billion in an amazing group of people from Israel – and we are investing it at an astounding speed...." Expressing interest in investing in additional Israeli companies, Buffett commented that he is waiting for calls from Israeli companies that meet his criteria. MORGAN STANLEY LABELS ISRAELI ECONOMY "ALMOST PERFECT" Investment bank releases glowing report on Israeli economy In a review on the Israeli economy entitled "Israel, Almost Perfect", U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley predicted the Bank of Israel's key rate will rise to 5.75% in 2006. The report said that "Israel's new government is good news from the economy and financial markets. The formation of a 'grand' coalition…in the Knesset is a positive development and will help maintain economic stability." 6.6% GROWTH IN ECONOMY IN FIRST QUARTER Citigroup sees average growth exceeding 4% A report showed the economy grew 6.6% in the first quarter of 2006, compared with 5.2% in the same period of 2005. The results exceeded previous forecasts. Investments in fixed assets grew by an annualized 16.3%, business product rose by an annualized 10.6% and investments in machinery and equipment rose by 20%. In response to the first quarter figures, Citigroup analysts predict that the average growth for 2006 will be higher than its 4% previously predicted. NASDAQ TO LAUNCH INDEX OF ISRAELI COMPANIES Israeli stock index to be the first foreign index on Nasdaq... This will be the first ever foreign index on the Nasdaq, with Israel boasting more companies listed than any country outside North America. RED HERRING'S TOP 100 EUROPEAN LIST INCLUDES 17 ISRAELI COMPANIES Israel ties 2nd place for the largest number of companies on the list Israel tied with France in the second largest number of companies, after Britain to be listed on Red Herring's top European 100 private technology companies. MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES BUYS ISRAELI WHALE COMMUNICATIONS Microsoft Israel's VP R&D: Microsoft plans to turn the start-up into another Israeli R&D center Microsoft announced plans to acquire secure sockets layer (SSL) and virtual private networks (VPN) vendor Whale Communications. Whale was listed in international accountancy firm Deloitte Touche’s “Europe Fast 500” list of top companies in 2005. Whale marks Microsoft's first acquisition of an Israeli company since 2001. BMC SOFTWARE INTERESTED IN FURTHER INVESTING IN ISRAEL The company's investments in Israel are considered its largest outside the U.S On a visit to Israel, BMC President and CEO Bob Beauchamp announced that BMC Software would continue investing in Israel on top of the billion dollars it had already spent. Beauchamp was in Israel with other company executives celebrating the company's recent acquisition of Identify Group for $150 million. Jim Grant, the Vice President of BMC Software Service Management Business Unit said that the company's investments in Israel are its largest outside the U.S. CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT GROUP TO ENTER ISRAELI MARKET Company establishes fund with Pekan Plus Mutual Funds Capital International, an investment group with over $300 billion under management, announced it would establish a mutual fund in Israel. This marks the company's first entry into the Israeli market. Capital International signed an agreement with Tel Aviv based Pekan Plus Mutual Funds. The fund will specialize in investments in the US share markets for its Israeli clientele. IBM ACQUIRES ISRAELI UNICORN SOLUTIONS Company listed on Red Herring's 100 leading start-ups for 2005 Unicorn Solutions, developers of software for metadata management is being acquired by IBM. The company is based in Jerusalem with a presence in New York. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT REACHES $1.72 BILLION IN MARCH-APRIL Hi-tech , industry and real estate benefit from investment The Bank of Israel reported that total direct foreign investment and investment in Israeli securities totaled $1.72 billion for the months of March and April. The hi-tech, industry and real estate sectors benefited most from the investment. STANDARD AND POORS AND MOODY'S CAST CONFIDENT VOTE ON ISRAELI ECONOMY "Israeli society and its political and economic decision-makers have shown remarkable resiliency," reported Moody's Both Moody's Investor Services and credit rating company Standard & Poors (S&P) granted a vote of confidence in the Israeli economy. Moody's Investor Services upgraded its outlook for its international market rating for Israel to "positive". "Israel is exhibiting considerable growth of GDP per capita, moving towards a level more often associated with advanced economies than with developing ones," said the report. In addition, announcing its credit ratings, S&P retained its A- rating for Israel. It reaffirmed the outlook remains stable. WARREN BUFFETT INVESTS FURTHER IN ISRAEL AgroLogic and Cellulogic acquired by Berkshire Hathaway Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Group announced its subsidiary CTB International Corp. had signed an agreement to buy the controlling interest of Israeli company AgroLogic. The company designs and manufactures integrated systems for cultural use including climate controllers, feed and poultry weighing systems. Cellulogic, AgroLogic's subsidiary which makes warning and control systems was also acquired by CTB International. (State of Israel, Finance Ministry, courtesy of Arutz Sheva)
Israel Second In Brazilian Coffee Industry Israeli food retailer Strauss Elite signed a deal with Brazilian coffee manufacturer, Santa Clara, making it the second largest player in the Brazilian coffee market. The new merger will be equally owned by the Israeli company and the Brazilian company. "This deal represents a breakthrough in Strauss Elite's way to become a leading factor in the ground coffee market, as well as in emerging markets," said Ofra Strauss. (Israel Today 2006) A team headed by an agricultural botanist at Hebrew University's Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences in Rehovot has succeeded in quadrupling the yield of large peanut pods at harvest time and that's not peanuts!...Through the use of the plant hormone ethylene, the researchers have succeeded in regulating the flowering of the peanut plant, which resulted in the increase in peanut yield. Peanuts (Arachis Hypogaea) are rich in proteirn and are an important product for man and industry. In Israel, some 33,000 dunams (8,250 acres) are devoted to peanut farming in the western Negev, the Sharon and the Galilee. The average yield is 500 to 600 kilograms (1,102-1,323 lbs.) per dunam (1/4 acre), and the period of growth is from 145 to 275 days, commencing in April. Every peanut plant produces more than 400 flowers during the growth period, but in the end only 35 of them ripen into peanut pods large enough to bring a top return on the market. In cash terms, the larger peanut pods bring a return on the export market of US $1,550 a ton, while the smaller peanuts bring only about US $1,100 a ton. Hence, regulating growth so that four times as many of the pods reach optimal market size as has been achieved by Eliezer Zamski and his colleagues, has significant consequences. - excerpt from article by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, The Jerusalem Post, April 2003
First Time in 2000 Years: Israel Has the Largest Jewish Community in The World According to the U.S. Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of Jews living in Israel has now surpassed the number of Jews in the United States. On the eve of Independence Day, CBS reported that there are 5.4 million Jews living in Israel compared to 5.2 million in the US according to the latest figures. What this means is that for the first time since the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE (AD), the land of Israel has once again – finally – become the largest Jewish community in the world. From a biblical and prophetic point of view, this is significant and another indication that we are in the times of the coming of the Messiah in the opinion of many biblical scholars. May it be so! - Special Jerusalem Report - June 17, 2003 17 Sivan 5763
Free land! That's what the Housing Ministry is offering in various areas in the Galilee, Golan, Judea, Negev, and Samaria. In addition, 50% of the development costs will be subsidized. The only condition: You must live there for at least five years. . . In Givat Yoav in the Golan, where 112 families currently live, 30 lots of a half-dunam each (1/8 of an acre) are being offered. Chairman of the Lands Assessors Bureau Adi Tzvikel said, "This is a very positive attempt by the Housing Ministry and the Lands Authority to awaken the dormant real estate market. Housing Ministry Dir.-Gen. Avi Maoz said that this is just one of the government plans in the works to thicken the population in the periphery. - Special Jerusalem Report - June 17, 2003 17 Sivan 5763
A preventive vaccine and treatment for Alzheimer's disease could be available in 5 years, if an Israeli-developed immunological technique shown effective in mice is found to disintegrate amyloid plaques in human brains. Phase I trials showed this immune response and proved the vaccine is not toxic, but Phase II trials to be conducted on 375 patients are aimed at showing that the vaccine prevents the formation of amyloid plaques in healthy people and also breaks them down in Alzheimer's patients. - Jerusalem Post
ISRAEL STAND OUT AMONG THE NATIONS Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population, can make claim to the following:
Medicine
Technology
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