Israel Active

Israeli shipping giant Zim has just reported the largest ever annual net profit ($4.65 billion) achieved by an Israeli company. It will also pay out the biggest ever dividend – $2.04 billion. Since its Jan 2021 IPO, Zim’s market value has increased five-fold to $8.9 billion.

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Just after the launch of Israel’s BeerBazaar the Coronavirus pandemic caused a massive surge in home delivery orders. With no software available, founder Avi Moskowitz developed PrettyDamnQuick to handle delivery logistics. It has now processed over 100,000 orders for many merchants.

US computer giant Nvidia, has just acquired Israel’s Excelero, a provider of enterprise data storage and block storage solutions. Nvidia employs 2,800 Israelis at seven 7 R&D centers – the most outside the US. Sites include Yoknean (), Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ra’anana, and Beersheba.

French corporation Carrefour has signed an agreement to gradually convert over 150 branches of the Yeinot Bitan supermarket chain to Carrefour branches. Its franchise is for a minimum of 20 years. Carrefour is the largest international retailer to enter Israel.

The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) estimates that 1.5 million passengers will pass through Ben Gurion airport around the time of the Passover holiday in April. It will certainly be the busiest holiday season for two years, as the tourist industry recovers from the impact of the Covid pandemic.

Finland’s defense ministry has decided to purchase defense systems from one of two Israeli companies, either Israel Aerospace Industries or Rafael Advanced Systems. Both companies beat competition from Germany, Norway, and the UK. Finland wants to protect its long border with Russia.

A delegation of more than 100 senior Turkish businesspeople arrived in Tel Aviv for meetings with their Israeli counterparts. During the visit, the Turkish Exporters Assembly signed a cooperation agreement with Israel's Federation of International Chambers of Commerce.

UK business information organization Small Business Prices found that in 2020, Israeli employees took an average of 3.9 sick days from work due to illness – the lowest of the 28 countries analyzed, suggesting a strong work ethic. The UK was 2nd (4.4 days) and Germany last (16.3 days).

Israeli homebuilding tech company Veev (see previously) has just raised $400 million at a valuation of over $1 billion.