Beit Shemesh to double in size
The city of Beit Shemesh is expected to double in size in the coming years. Approval has been given for 17,000 new apartments plus 530 dunams of land for businesses, companies, and hotels. In addition, the city will construct infrastructure and improve the city's parks and public transportation.
Israel to join World bond index
Israeli Government bonds will be even more highly desirable shortly, when Israeli bonds are included in the Citigroup World Government Bond Index (WGBI). Financial institutions will then be required to buy Israeli bonds to track the WGBI for their customers.
The first Israeli single-malt
Israel’s Milk & Honey Distillery (M&H) unveiled Israel’s first-ever single-malt whisky on World Whisky Day (May 20). 391 bottles will be sold in select Israeli stores in late June, after aging 3 years in special oak casks . Note that Israel’s Golan Heights distillery already produces Golani Two-grain whiskey.
Porsche to invest in Israeli auto-tech
German carmaker Porsche, owned by Volkswagen, has announced that it would invest tens of millions of euros in smart car technologies startups in Israel. Porsche said, “Israel is a key main market for IT engineers and specialists.”
Direct flights from Shanghai to Tel Aviv
Chinese airline Hainan Airlines has requested to begin direct flights between Shanghai and Ben Gurion Airport. Hainan is seeking to begin three weekly direct Shanghai flights from September 12 using Boeing 787s and Airbus 330s.
Now it’s Charlie Airlines
The interestingly named Charlie Airlines is the latest addition to the seven airlines operating between Tel Aviv and Larnaca, Cyprus. The company's air fleet consists of one Airbus 319-100 with a capacity of 144 passengers.
Collect your donuts on the way
Israeli-founded Waze now allows drivers to “order ahead” and purchase coffee and other items from Dunkin’ Donuts. If all goes well, Waze plans to team up with other merchants to order pizza, reserve parking spaces, fill prescriptions and even buy groceries from the same phone app.
Moving into Italian plastics
Israel’s Ginegar Plastic Products produces and markets polyethylene sheets and nets for use in agriculture and industry. Ginegar has just completed a 7 million Euro takeover of Italy’s Flextech, which manufactures and sells plastic products to customers, mainly in the industrial market.
Microsoft buys Israeli cybersecurity firm
Microsoft has acquired Israeli cyber security company Hexadite for $100 million. Hexadite's solution rates the urgency of alerts identified by the anti-virus and firewall system, helping staff to investigate the most serious cyberattacks first.
Syneron exits for $397 million
Israeli esthetic medical products company Syneron Medical is being acquired by private equity advisory firm Apax Partners for $397 million. Syneron has been featured previously in this newsletter. Its products are popular globally – even in Lebanon