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NEWS
NIELSEN LAUNCHES $25M CHIEF SCIENTIST BACKED INVESTMENT FUND

Nielsen has announced the launch of ‘Nielsen Innovate‘, a $25M Israeli fund dedicated to early stage investments in web, media, research, measurement, and advertising startups. The fund is co-owned with Partam High Tech.


04/2013
CHINA EVERBRIGHT TO INVEST IN ISRAELI TECH COMPANIES

China Everbright Ltd., the investment arm of state-owned China Everbright Corp., plans to initiate $100-200 million in investment activity in Israel’s technology sector. 


04/2013
MCGREGOR FASHION COMING TO ISRAEL

International fashion brand McGregor, which manufactures luxury casual wear, opened its first Israeli flagship store in March at Tel Aviv's Azrieli Mall.


04/2013
GERMANY'S ADVA OPTICAL ACQUIRES BIRAN HIGH TECH ADVISORS

Germany's Adva Optical Networking has acquired LTE technologies developer Biran High Tech Advisors for some millions of dollars in shares. 


04/2013
AMDOCS & SINGTEL ESTABLISH JOINT ISRAELI DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Singapore Telecommunications and Amdocs Israel have opened a development center in Israel as part of SingTel's investment in new technology.  SingTel said its initial focus will be on voice and facial recognition as well as systems that enable mobile and Wi-Fi networks to work more efficiently. 


04/2013
ALLSCRIPTS BUYS DBMOTION FOR $235M

US Company Allscripts announced recently that it had purchased Hod Hasharon-based dbMotion for $235m.


04/2013
ON THE CUTTING-EDGE OF INNOVATION: BLOOD TEST THAT REVEALS RISK FOR BREAST CANCER

Researchers at Hadassah Medical Center have developed a test that can predict if healthy women are at a significant risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer.


04/2013
APPLE OPENS THIRD DEVELOPMENT CENTER IN ISRAEL

Apple Inc. is opening a new development center in Israel. The new Apple development center in the Ra'anana Industrial Zone will be the company's third in Israel after it opened a development center in Haifa last year and acquired flash memory developer Anobit in Herzliya.


04/2013
ISRAELI WATER TECH COMPANY DRAWS EUROPEAN INVESTMENT

For the first time, Europe’s Aster Capital venture fund is investing in an Israeli company, Israel’s Atlantium Technologies, giving $3 million to the company to continue its development of new products. Atlantium develops ultraviolet technology for water disinfection.


04/2013
SPRINT NEXTEL TO OPEN NEW RESEARCH LAB IN TEL AVIV

Sprint Nextel will be opening a research lab in Tel Aviv later this year in collaboration with the Israel Mobile & Media Association (IMA) and using equipment provided by Alcatel-Lucent.


04/2013
BLOOMBERG RANKS ISRAEL 1ST IN R&D INTENSITY WORLDWIDE

Bloomberg news recently issued a ranking of the world’s most innovative countries based on seven of quantitative parameters.  In the area of R&D intensity Israel ranked 1st in the world and 7th in the world in high-tech density. 


04/2013
MONSANTO ACQUIRES ISRAEL’S ROSETTA GREEN FOR $35M

US seed giant Monsanto has closed the acquisition of Israel's Rosetta Green, which makes engineered seeds for farmers. Monsanto paid $35 million for Rosetta, roughly double the company's market value.


04/2013
SAMSUNG FUND TO INVEST IN ISRAELI COMPANIES

South Korea’s Samsung announced in early February that they are launching a $100m venture capital fund to invest in early stage high tech start-ups located in just three places worldwide, Israel, Massachusetts and California’s Silicon Valley. 


04/2013
The Israeli formula
ISRAEL SIGNS R&D COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH NEW YORK STATE
Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and New York Governor David Paterson signed a memorandum governing an industrial R&D cooperation agreement between Israel and New York State.
12/2009
UN ACKNOWLEDGES ISRAEL AS INTERNATIONAL PATENT CENTER

Patent applications recognized in Israel will be accepted internationally as well

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, has recently recognized Israel as an international center for the search and testing of patents.  Israel will be added to the list of 15 leading countries in this field.


12/2009
STRONG GROWTH FORECASTS SHOW ISRAEL COMING OUT OF RECESSION
"Thanks to sound macroeconomic and structural fundamentals, the Israeli economy has shown good resilience throughout the global crisis…The economy grew at a rate of 1% in the second quarter, and thus technically emerged from recession." - UBS economist Reinhard Cluse
09/2009
TEVA LAUNCHES CHEMOTHERAPY DRUG FOLLOWING FDA APPROVAL

09/2009
ORAMED PHARMACEUTICALS GETS FROST & SULLIVAN INNOVATION AWARD

09/2009
SIEMENS BUYS 40% STAKE IN ISRAELI SOLAR POWER COMPANY
"Thanks to its intensive sunshine and steadily growing demand for energy, Israel is an ideal location for further developing our solar business." - Peter Löscher, president and CEO of Siemens.
09/2009
ISRAELI COMPANIES EXPAND INVOLVEMENT IN LATIN AMERICA

09/2009
ISRAEL SIGNS R&D COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH NEW YORK STATE

09/2009
TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY RESEARCHER CREATES NATURAL CURE FOR INSOMNIA

09/2009
ISRAELI FILM “LEBANON” WINS TOP PRIZE IN VENICE

09/2009
TEL AVIV STOCK EXCHANGE CONTINUES TO RISE IN 2009

08/2009
IDF-MADE ROBOT SNAKE GATHERS INFORMATION IN ROUGH TERRAIN

08/2009
PHARMA GIANT ROCHE TO STRENGTHEN R&D PIPELINE IN ISRAEL THROUGH PONTIFAX DEAL
The collaboration will see both partners provide financial support and relevant expertise to young biotech and pharma companies in Israel.
06/2009
YISSUM AND ZAMBON TO COMMERCIALIZE NANO PAIN TREATMENT

06/2009
ECI HELPS SWITCH DEUTSCHE TELEKOM TO IP

06/2009
JOINT PROJECT OF IBM, TECHNION, RAMBAM MEDICAL CENTER WINS PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL PRIZE
SRII awarded the prize for “the most successful collaboration of industry, academia and government as expressed in this project.”
06/2009
NDS EXPANDS IN GERMANY

06/2009
BP SOLAR UTILIZES SOLAR EDGE TO CUT POWER OUTPUT
"I am impressed with the initial performance and reliability tests of SolarEdge's solution", said Eric Daniels, chief technology officer at BP Solar.
06/2009
MORGAN STANLEY SUGGESTS INVESTMENT IN ISRAEL

06/2009
ISRAEL RANKED 20 IN IMD STRESS TEST
The "stress test" aims to examine how "countries can resist adversity and show resilience to weather the storm."
06/2009
ISRAEL RANKED 9TH MOST INNOVATIVE COUNTRY BY EIU REPORT

06/2009
ISRAEL EXEMPTS FOREIGN INVESTORS FROM PRIVATE EQUITY TAXES

06/2009
ISRAELI ECONOMY RESILIENT IN THE FACE OF GAZA CONFLICT

01/2009
"MOST ADMIRED MEDICAL COMPANY" ST. JUDE ACQUIRES MEDIGUIDE FOR $283 MILLION.
"We believe MediGuide's proprietary technology may also extend across a variety of other product categories … We look forward to bringing this technology into our portfolio so that we can further develop and capture these potential opportunities,” Daniel J. Starks, chairman, president and chief executive officer of St. Jude Medical, said.
01/2009
CHECK POINT BUYS NOKIA'S SECURITY APPLIANCE BUSINESS
The acquisition "will add more than $100 million to Check Point's sales in 2009 …it will strengthen us in dealing with the global recession," Gil Shwed, chairman and chief executive of Check Point said.
01/2009
HARMONIC BUYS SCOPUS FOR $51 MILLION.

01/2009
U.S.-ISRAELI BIRD FOUNDATION TO INVEST $9 MILLION IN 12 PROJECTS

01/2009
MA INDUSTRIES TO BUY COMPANIES IN POLAND AND SERBIA FOR $20 MILLION

01/2009
ENDOCARE TO BUY ELRON'S GALIL MEDICAL

12/2008
ISRAEL’S FOOD PRODUCER OSEM TO BUY FOODTECH FOR $20 MILLION

12/2008
STANLEY FISHER SAYS ISRAEL IS IN GOOD SHAPE ECONOMICALLY
"Foreign companies are not exiting the country despite the financial crisis".
11/2008
ISRAELI UNIVERSITIES RANKED AMONG WORLD'S BEST

11/2008
INTRODUCING "ISRAEL NEWTECH – NOVEL EFFICIENT WATER TECHNOLOGIES"
Name and logo of Israel's National Program Promoting The Water Technologies Sector, as well as film showcasing the sector, to be officially launched on Oct. 30 at the int'l WATEC '07 event
11/2007
EBAY OPENING ISRAELI DEVELOPMENT CENTER BASED ON ACQUISITION OF ISRAELI SHOPPING.COM

11/2007
SPANSION INCORPORATED ACQUIRING ISRAELI SAIFUN SEMICONDUCTORS FOR $368 MILLION
Saifun to be responsible for Spansion's technology licensing business for the next generation product roadmap
11/2007
UK INTERNET BROKERAGE COMPANY, ICAP, ACQUIRING ISRAELI FINANCIAL SOFTWARE COMPANY, TRAIANA FOR $247 MILLION
Company's online services system considered benchmark in foreign currency trading
11/2007
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM'S CHAIRMAN: "WE'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND OUR COLLABORATIONS WITH ISRAELI COMPANIES"

Chairman of Deutsche Telekom in Israel to visit the company's new R&D center in Beersheva set up jointly with Ben Gurion University.


11/2007
AT&T ACQUIRES ISRAELI INTERWISE FOR $121 MILLION
At&T intends to maintain company as its Israeli R&D center within AT&T Global Business Service
11/2007
ISRAELI RESEARCHERS DEVELOP UPGRADED "GOOGLE TRENDS"
Technology developed by Google's R&D center in Israel improves technology's ability to provide insights into broad search patterns
11/2007
JAPANESE VC COMPANY, CSK, INTENDS TO INVEST $100 MILLION IN ISRAEL
CSK Managing Partner: "Our investment fund . . . hopes to increase the synergy between Japanese and Israeli companies through joint investments in Israeli technology."
11/2007
GOLDMAN SACHS INVESTING $100 MILLION IN ISRAELI MOBILEYE
Mobileye was named by U.S. Red Herring magazine a Top 100 Innovator
11/2007
ISRAELI WATER PURIFICATION COMPANY, BLUE-I, TO INSTALL ITS TECHNOLOGY IN COCA COLA'S FACILITIES AROUND THE WORLD

10/2007
US RESEARCH COMPANY, CLEAN EDGE, LISTS ISRAELI AQWISE AMONG "10 TO WATCH" FIRMS
Israeli water purification company was chosen among leading companies, such as GE and Siemens
10/2007
INTEL CAPITAL INVESTING $11 MILLION IN ISRAELI SEMICONDUCTOR COMPANY

Intel Capital, Intel Corporation's investment arm is investing $11 million in Israeli Jordan Valley Semiconductors Ltd.


10/2007
VC COMPANY, GREYLOCK INVESTING IN ISRAELI CLEANTECH
American Greylock Partners announced that it intends on making 3-4 investments in early-stage Israeli cleantech start-ups
10/2007
IVC RESEARCH CENTER: IN THE FIRST 3 QUARTERS OF 2007, ISRAELI HIGH-TECH COMPANIES RAISED $1.256 BILLION
Amount represents a 10% increase over the corresponding period in 2006
10/2007
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL "GLOBAL FINANCE" NAMES STANLEY FISCHER AS ONE OF WORLD'S SEVEN LEADING BANKERS
Stanley Fischer received the highest grade of "A"
10/2007
THE FINANCIAL TIMES STOCK EXCHANGE ADVANCES ISRAEL'S ECONOMIC STATUS TO "DEVELOPED" FROM "EMERGING MARKET"
FTSE new classification lists Israel as the first Middle East country in a group of 24 developed nations
10/2007
EVENTS
OVERVIEW

Israel's large concentration of innovative people makes it an ideal place for investment. Characterized by entrepreneurship, Israel provides pioneering technologies, profitable business opportunities and high investment returns.

 

This is why major multinationals such as Microsoft, Motorola, Google, Apple, Berkshire-Hathaway, Intel, HP, Siemens, GE, IBM, Philips, Lucent, AOL, Cisco, Applied Materials, IBM, J&J and many others have chosen to invest in Israel.

 

Investing in Israel takes many and varied forms. It is well known that many of the world's top multinationals have chosen to open R&D and operation centers in Israel. In addition, investors are discovering that Israel is also a valuable source of qualified human resources including technical workers, customer service/ sales respresentatives, marketing and design staff and engineers, just to name a few. Of course, Israel's reputation as the "start-up nation," means that many companies that are born and grow in Israel, go on to make major strides on the international stage.

 


Israel's Competitive Advantage

 

The World Economic Forum has designated Israel as one of the leading countries in the world in technological innovation. In the 2012-13 WEF Global Competitive Index Report Israel was ranked as the 26th most competitive country. The 2012 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook ranked Israel as the 19th most competitive country in the world. 
 

 

Highlights from the 2012 IMD report include:

 

 

Criteria

2012

Total Expenditure on R&D (%GDP)

1

Public and private sector ventures

1

Scientific Research

2

Entrepreneurship of Managers

2

Innovative Capacity

2

Total public expenditure on education

2

Knowledge transfer

2

Flexibility and adaptability

6

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source:   IMD Global Competitiveness Yearbook 2012

 

 

 

Highlights from the 2011 IMD report include:

 

Criteria

2011

Central Bank Policy

1

Total Expenditure on R&D (%GDP)

1

Scientific Research

1

Entrepreneurship of Managers

1

Total public expenditure on education

2

Investment Incentives

2

Venture Capital Availability

2

Real Growth (%)

12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source:   IMD Global Competitiveness Yearbook 2011

 

Israel’s successful track record of profit-driving innovations:

 

  • PrimeSense developed a system that can interpret specific gestures, making completely hands-free control of electronic devices possible by using an infrared projector and camera and a special microchip to track the movement of objects and individuals in three dimensions. Microsoft's Kinect is largely based on PrimeSense's range camera technology. 
  • Argo Medical Technologies Ltd has developed a restoration device for people with lower limb disabilities. The company’s flagship ReWalk product offers an ambulation alternative to wheelchair users, enabling paralyzed people to stand, walk and even climb stairs.
  • Intel Israel opened its first R&D center and its first manufacturing center outside the USA in Haifa and in Jerusalem in 1974 and 1985 respectively, and opened 4 additional R&D centers as well as its Fab 18 and Fab 28 plant. In early 2011 Intel's Haifa center launched the next generation of chips called "Sandy Bridge," following up on its earlier successful launch of the Centrino chip in 2003. The R&D team is currently working on "IvyBridge" the next generation scheduled for release by 2015, which is supposed to reduce the current market chips to a 22 nano-meter size. 
  • Oracle's Hertzliya-based R&D center, originally established by Sun Microsystems, specializes in JAVA for small non-cellphone devices and largely developed Amazon's Kindle. 


The Resources - Qualified Workforce for staffing and outsourcing

 

With the world's highest percentage of engineers and scientists, Israel's greatest natural resource is its skilled workforce. Highly motivated, resourceful and independent, they enable Israel to stay ahead of the competition.

 

Israel’s workforce is particularly competitive because of the informal but effective get-down-to-business culture, exceptional ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit. The combination of culture, skill and initiative creates a flexible, working system that allows for great adaptability while producing breakthrough technologies and quick time-to-market solutions.

 

Israel's minority communities, including its Arab-Israeli and ultra-Orthodox populations, are emerging today as one of its valuable  - and still largely untapped - resources. Special government programs are nurturing the high levels of creative and technical talent within these groups. Investors are looking towards these groups for solutions to their outsourcing and staffing needs, and reporting their satisfaction.

 

The Support

 

The Law for the Encouragement of Industrial R&D offers conditional grants of up to 50% of approved programs.

 

The State of Israel encourages international and local investment by offering grants of up to 24% of tangible fixed assets, reduced tax rates, tax exemptions and other tax related benefits through the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments. In addition, Israel offers one of the world's most advanced infrastructures and the services required to conduct business efficiently and effectively. Israel boasts a sophisticated communications system; reliable energy infrastructure; well-developed transportation system with modern international gateways; protection of trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property; a highly developed and transparent financial system and a legal system based on common and corporate law.
 
See Also: Ministry of Finance's Economic Overview of Israel 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 


Last modified: 4/24/2013 pic