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NEWS
ESTIMATES SHOW ISRAELI GDP ROSE 4.8% IN 2011

According to preliminary estimates, Israel's gross domestic product grew by 4.8% in 2011, following a similar rise in 2010, and a 0.8% rise in 2009, when Israel crawled back out of the recession.

GDP per capita is expected to have risen 2.9% to $31,100.


01/2012
MOODYS REITERATES “A1 – STABLE” RATING FOR ISRAEL

The rating is "underpinned by the country's high levels of economic, institutional and financial strength and moderate event risk." – Moody's


01/2012
APPLE TO LAUNCH ISRAEL R&D CENTER

Apple Inc. has decided to open its first ever development center outside of its California headquarters in Israel.  The new center in Israel will focus on semiconductors.


01/2012
FLASH COMPANY ANOBIT TO BE APPLE'S FIRST ISRAELI ACQUISITION

Leading computing company Apple is acquiring Anobit, a developer of flash controllers and smartphone memory enhancement technology.


01/2012
AKAMAI BUYS ISRAELI COTENDO FOR $268 MLN

Akamai Technologies Inc., a Cambridge company that manages Web traffic for some of the Internet’s biggest sites, is acquiring website and mobile acceleration technology vendor Cotendo. Though a small competitor, Cotendo had been making big strides speeding up Web access on mobile phones, a fast growing segment of Akamai’s business.


01/2012
CORNELL, TECHNION WIN NYCTECH CAMPUS PROJECT

Cornell University and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology have been chosen to build a cutting-edge NYC Tech Campus that will serve as a global magnet for tech talent and entrepreneurship. The NYCTech Campus will combine cutting-edge technologies to create one of the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient campuses in the world.


01/2012
US DELEGATIONS TO ISRAEL SEEK STRONGER BILATERAL TIES

Two high-level American delegations reached out to Israeli business leaders in December as they explored cooperation in renewable energy, aerospace, medicine and other technologies.


01/2012
ISRAEL CORP. ACQUIRES CHILEAN POWER COMPANY

Israel Corporation has acquired Chilean power company Central Tierra Amarilla SA, which owns a 155-megawatt power station that uses open cycle diesel generators.


01/2012
TOURISM TO ISRAEL IN NOVEMBER AT RECORD HIGH

Tourism to Israel in November rose 2% from the corresponding month in 2010 to 316,000 arrivals, and was the highest number of tourists for any November.


01/2012
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

Home Grown Successes
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“What drives us is the desire to improve and excel, as well as the desire to build things by ourselves”- Check Point Founder, Chairman & CEO, Gil Shwed
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"Teva faces a challenging and exciting era. Under (New CEO and President, ShlomoYanai's direction, Teva will strengthen its leadership position in the global pharmaceutical market and will reach even greater heights." - Mr. Eli Hurvitz, Chairman of Teva's Board of Directors
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Keter Group is one of the world's largest manufacturers and marketers of plastic consumer products and a global trendsetter in household, outdoor storage, garden furniture, and in do-it-yourself (DIY) products.
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"With a world-leading development and production facility, Kamada’s vision of developing life-saving biopharmaceuticals is rapidly becoming a reality," Ralph Hahn, Co-Founder of Kamada.
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Netafim is a Global leader, expert in smart water solution for agriculture, enabling to grow more quality crops with less resources, (water energy, money, land) by offering: global agronomic knowledge & personal coaching, state of the art technology & intense experience.
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"We are excited with the progress we have made …especially in recovered energy generation, which has experienced increasing interest as the need for energy efficiency begins to play a greater role in combating global warming." Dita Bronicki, Founder and CEO of Ormat.
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“The RAD Group’s decentralized approach maximizes the advantages inherent in smaller business units - such as flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit - while allowing member companies to share mutually beneficial developments and fostering innovations.” - Zohar Zisapel, Founder, Rad Group

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"Iscar is an amazing company run by amazing people. I don't get many opportunities to invest in companies like that." Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, September 2006
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ZAG –Stanley Israel is a worldwide innovative leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of high quality consumer and professional tool storage products in plastic, metal, and fabric for the DIY market and professional channels around the world.
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"This simple outpatient focused ultrasound procedure will be replacingsurgery as we know it . . . MR guided focused ultrasound is a tremendous leap forward in the treatment of uterine fibroids." Prof. Wladislaw Gedroyc, Consulting Radiologist, St. Mary's Hospital, London, UK
 
Multinationals
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" The Israeli unit is an inseparable part of the company and enables us to provide the technological advantage that differentiates us from our competitors and enables us to expand our market share" Michael R. Splinter, President and CEO of Applied Materials,January 2007
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”Israel is an incredible opportunity for us. It provides a growth engine for innovation," said Richard Nottenburg, Motorola's executive VP chief strategy officer.
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"Intel Israel continues to grow, which will translate into a big drive to recruit workers in a variety of technological fields," said Maxine Fassberg, general manager of Intel Israel, and Vice President at Intel Corp (2008).
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GE was one of the first international companies to establish a presence in Israel, when General Engineers Ltd. was founded in 1950.
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"Israeli companies are very successful, backed by years of experience, development and production of field equipment for the creation of solar energy," - Peter Loescher, president and chief executive of Siemens.

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“HP is committed and will continue investing... in the future”- Bernard Meric, Vice President and Managing Director, HP Europe
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"Israel is the most exciting place I know. It’s great to come here and see the dynamic generation of ideas, the motivation to be first and the professional daring of Israeli start-ups." Buell Duncan, General Manager, ISV & Developer Relations, IBM, in an interview to InformationWeek-Israel
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"Our Tel Aviv facility is particularly important because the mainframe talent and technology that we have there is not easily found around the world… We have had tremendous success here and (with) the products they produce and the great technology environment that exists in Israel," Jim Grant, the Vice President of BMC Software Service Management Business Unit 2006
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Unilever Israel offers a wide range of popular brands and products including Skippy, Dove, Strauss Ice Cream, Telma, Knorr, LUX, Hellmann’s, Cif, Badin, Mazola, Pinuk, Blue Band, Lipton, Clik, and Beigal & Beigal
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“Israel has a very advanced technology sector. Innovative Israeli software companies such as A2i and TopTier have proven to fit well into SAP's long-standing organic growth strategy. With a current staff of around 800 SAP employees in Israel, the country is home to our fourth largest development center and SAP remains strongly committed to its operations here." SAP CEO Henning Kagermann, April 2006

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"It's no exaggeration to say that the kind of innovation going on in Israel is critical to the future of the technology business . . . For Microsoft, having an R&D center in Israel has been a great experience . . . The quality of people here is fantastic."  - Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software architect of Microsoft (2005)

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“There are projects for which it won’t matter if tens of thousands of engineers work on it or if a group of 100 engineers with a range of talents do all the work. Israel has such groups.” Clifford Meltzer, Cisco Systems Senior VP Network Management Technology Group