Israel Active

A delegation of over 35 British investors, led by the deputy chairman of the Bank of England, made a three-day visit to Israel. It was the largest delegation to date organized by the chamber of commerce UK Israel Business (UKIB), which aims to connect businesses in the two nations.

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore has inaugurated a dedicated Israel Center that aims to serve as a focal point of academic cooperation between the two nations.

Israeli flavors and fine ingredients company Frutarom has made its ninth takeover of 2017. It has bought Israel’s Enzymotec – producer of InFat infant formula and other nutrition products. Enzymotec has around 100 registered patents and adds to Frutarom’s 79 global R&D centers.

100 US and Israeli graduates of some of the world’s top international universities took part in Israel’s 10th annual Ivy League Yacht Race in the Mediterranean off Herzliya. This, plus other similar events, gives vital business networking opportunities to top American and Israeli alumni.

The Toronto-Dominion Bank is opening a new office in Tel Aviv to tap Israel’s cybersecurity expertise – a first for any Canadian bank. TD Bank Group, plans to invest up to $5 million annually in its Tel Aviv office.

Israel’s budget deficit has reached a new low, thanks to record tax income in October. Receipts of NIS 30.1 billion brought the cumulative deficit over the past 12 months to 1.4% of GDP, less than half of its target. This despite a 9.2% increase in Government spending over the same period.

Deutsche Bank has rated the Israeli shekel as the world's second-strongest currency after the Chinese yuan. Over the past 12 months, the shekel has appreciated 6.1% against the basket of currencies, which comprises the U.S. dollar, the British pound, the euro and the yen.

Online shopping giant Amazon is to set up research and development centers with 100 staff in Tel Aviv and Haifa. It wants to further improve its Alexa Voice Shopping system, which allows shoppers to speak their order into a machine rather than typing it into a computer.

Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba is to open a Research & Development lab in Israel. Alibaba has already invested in Israeli startups including Visualead, Infinity Augmented Reality, Lumus and Twiggle. It is also a partner of Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP).

Israel’s AudioCodes has been selected by communications provider British Telecom to provide session border controller (SBC) solutions (for connectivity between IP networks) to be stationed at British Telecom's business customers.