Israel Active

I previewed Innovate Israel 2018, hosted by UK Israel Business (UKIB) on 3rd July. The 15 Israeli startups covered the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), vison enhancement, drones, big data, cybersecurity, marketing technologies and nanosatellites.

The Shanghai Diamond Exchange has agreed with the Israel Diamond Exchange to transfer the processing of large stones to Israel. Many Chinese diamond processing companies may transfer some of their processing to Israel and some Chinese diamond cutters will relocate to central Israel.

The US and Israel have agreed mutual visa arrangements for potential investors to visit each other’s country. The US E-2 Investor visa and the Israeli B-5 equivalent are to be launched imminently.

The Mexican Soccer Federation (FMF) and the Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican soccer, have agreed a deal with Israeli automated sports production company Pixellot. Pixellot’s coaching systems will be deployed at all 18 clubs in the Liga MX, as well as their respective youth academies.

I reported previously that the US Army had installed Israel’s Trophy Windbreaker active defense system on some of its Abrams tanks. Tests of the system were so successful that the US Army is now buying another $193 million worth of Windbreakers.

Peru’s Fitel has awarded Israel’s Gilat Satellite Networks another two regional telecoms projects. The Amazonas project is worth $108 million and the Ica project worth $45.6 million. Previous projects won by Gilat in Peru have been worth nearly $400 million.

Israel’s Incentives Solutions markets the Sales Performance Management platform “Joopy”.  Its features include incentive schemes, analytics and interface to payroll systems. Clients include Nestle, Coca Cola, AIG, Phoenix Insurance, Orange and Teva.

The new 3-days-a-week Air India service from Tel Aviv to Delhi is so popular, that it is being increased to a daily service. The route began in March, making history when Saudi Arabia, for the first time, gave permission for an airline to fly direct to Israel over its territory, reducing the flight time by 2 hours.

El Al is to train civilians to become commercial pilots in Florida, USA, commencing in December. The new course is for Israeli citizens, at least 21 years old with matriculation certificates and no previous flying experience. There is a growing shortage of pilots worldwide.

The latest Bank of Israel analysis of the domestic financial system shows that it remains stable. However, there is greater likelihood of an economic or geopolitical shock originating abroad. Looking long-term, the strength of most industries in the business sector has improved.