Another A+ from S&P
Standards & Poors has given Israel yet another top rating. S&P expected average per capita income to grow to almost $42,000 by 2017, up from $28,000 in 2009. Meanwhile, confidence in Israel’s stock market has resulted in the largest increase in investment into Israeli mutual funds since 2002.
The year in 2 minutes
A new Israeli Government video heralds its achievements since coming to power.
Geothermal energy for Indonesia and New Zealand
Israel’s Ormat Technologies will supply the energy converters for the $1.7 billion 330-megawatt Sarulla geothermal power plant in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Also, New Zealand inaugurated its 13th and largest Ormat Power Plant – the 100MW Ngatamariki facility.
The ‘Red-Med’ rail link
Israel, China and Europe are getting excited about the building of a $2 billion, 300-kilometer rail link connecting Eilat, on the Red Sea, with Ashdod on the Mediterranean. Construction of the alternative to the Suez Canal will commence within 12 months and take five years to complete.
Now that’s what we call an exchange
Daniel Abrahams is emigrating to Israel and taking his innovative currency exchange comparison website with him. CurrencyTransfer.com can make significant savings for import-export Israeli businesses.
Mission-driven investing
Stephen Schoenfeld is the Chief Investment Officer of BlueStar Global Investors, a firm he launched in 2010 with the explicit purpose of driving investors towards Israeli capital markets. He markets Israel as a sound investment, with Israeli equities increasing by 324% since 1997.
PA increases imports from Israel
The Palestinian Authority may be telling others to boycott Israeli products, but its imports from Israel in Jan 2014 grew at a rate of 17.2%, while imports from other countries were down 16.4% compared to January of 2013. Merchants said Israeli goods are higher quality than from Arab countries.
IKEA opens another Israeli store
Swedish retailer IKEA has opened its third Israeli store, to join those in Netanya and Rishon Lezion. The new 2,700-square-meter facility is in Kiryat Ata, near Haifa. IKEA expects to sell 25 million products to 5.4 million Israeli customers in 2014.
Israeli telecom reaches Far East
Bezeq International is the first Israeli telecommunications company to establish a physical presence in the Far East as a result of its deployment of an undersea cable. The company has established a point of presence in Hong Kong for customers seeking communications services with Israel.
Israeli trade delegation in London
A 30-strong group of Israeli companies specializing in retail and water technology met heads of British corporations, including Marks and Spencer, Tesco and ASOS to strengthen trade ties with the UK. The initiative was part of the TeXchange program.