Canadian Stock Exchanges Look to Attract Israeli Companies

“Send your bread forth upon the waters; for after many days you will find it.” Ecclesiastes 11:1 (The Israel Bible™)

A TMX Group board displays Toronto Stock Exchange information. (Wikimedia Commons)

Two Canadian stock exchanges are striving to draw Israeli companies to list with them.

A delegation from the TMX Group, which operates both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Calgary-based TSX Venture Exchange, visited Israel this week as part of the Journey 2017 annual business conference. The gathering is sponsored by EY Israel, the Israeli branch of the global accounting giant Ernst & Young.

According to the organizers, about 2,000 people from 100 leading firms in the finance industry attended the conference, which ran from Oct. 22-25.

Robert Peterman, vice president of global business development at the Toronto Stock Exchange, told reporters that Israel is “one of the better places” for finding innovative companies.

“Israel is an important market for our exchanges, and we are pleased to head this delegation of leading Canadian innovation sector investment bankers and capital market advisers,” Peterman said. “Two key benefits we see for listing on either Toronto Stock Exchange or Venture include access to North American investors that are able to support companies at all stages of growth, and a competitive landscape of investment banks to support these growth companies with financing and research coverage.”

There are currently six Israeli companies listed on the two Canadian exchanges, to the tune of $1.9 billion.

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‘HydroCamel’ Autonomous Submarine Unveiled in Israel

Ben Gurion University launches the Hydrocamel at NEXTECH, Be’er Sheva. Oct 19, 2017. (Kobi Richter/ TPS)

Israel’s first autonomous submarine was unveiled at the NexTech Conference 2017 in Beer Sheva on October 19.

The 2.5 meter long HydroCamel II Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) can be used for military and  security applications, for the oil and gas industry, as well as environmental applications and marine research.

The HydroCamel was developed by researchers at Ben Gurion University of the Negev’s Laboratory for Autonomous Robotics. BGN Technologies, the university’s technology company, launched a new company, BGR, to commercialize the vehicle.

Chief executive Tzvika Goldner told Tazpit Press Service at the conference that the HydroCamel is far more advanced than other AUVs on the market.

“We can preinstall payloads such as sonars, cameras and robotic arms that can perform different kind of tasks underwater,” Goldner said.

He added that the HydroCamel has already done more than 1,000 kilometers in underwater trials and is close to commercialization.

As for the HydroCamel’s cost, Goldner said that would depend on the payload the client requires, but that “BGR will be offering HydroCamel II at a competitive price compared to other underwater vehicles in the same category.

“Our AUV integrates state-of-the-art technologies including high-level maneuvering in six degrees of freedom and an ability to dive almost vertically,” adds Prof. Hugo Guterman of BGU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and head of the LAR. “Until now, these capabilities were limited to remotely operated underwater vehicles, which must be tethered by umbilical cable to a host ship at all times, while the HydroCamel II is completely autonomous.”

The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Market is currently worth around $300 million but, according to a report in Markets and Markets, is set to reach $1.2 billion by 2023, growing annually by 22 percent due to the rising necessity for sea-based security measures worldwide and increasing offshore oil and gas production.

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World’s Largest Retailer Alibaba to Open R&D Center in Israel

“The plans of the diligent make only for gain.” Proverbs 21:5 (The Israel Bible™)

The headquarters of the e-commerce giant Alibaba in Hangzhou, China. (Wikimedia Commons)

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced Wednesday it will open a research and development (R&D) center in Israel. The move is part of the company’s plan to unveil a series of R&D centers worldwide, with an investment of $15 billion.

Since April 2016, the Alibaba Group has been the world’s largest retailer with operations in over 200 countries. It’s also one of the largest internet companies, providing consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer and business-to-business sales services via web portals. Its online sales and profits have surpassed all major U.S. retailers combined – including Walmart, Amazon and eBay – since 2015.

With the new R&D center, Alibaba joins e-commerce giants such as Amazon and eBay, and more than 300 international companies, that already maintain facilities in the Jewish state.

In a message to Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Israeli Economy and Industry Minister Eli Cohen said, “Welcome to the land of innovation.”

Cohen, who traveled to China in March with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, met Ma during the visit and invited him to invest in Israel.

During their conversation, Cohen joked with Ma, saying, “My daughters steadily increase their purchases from Alibaba, so it’s time for Alibaba to invest in Israel.”

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Israel Jumps Eight Places in Global Competitiveness Index

(Shutterstock)

Israel jumped eight places to rank 16th in the world from 137 countries in the latest edition of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) published by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum this week.

Switzerland topped the table as the world’s most competitive economy for the ninth consecutive year, beating out the United States and Singapore in second and third place respectively.

The report looks at 12 factors: institutional environment; infrastructure;  macroeconomic environment; health and primary education; higher education and training; efficiency of goods markets; labor market efficiency; financial market development; technological readiness; market size; business sophistication; and innovation.

Israel came in third in innovation, seventh in technological readiness, 11th in financial market development and 15th in business sophistication.

However, on the downside, it ranked 39th in macroeconomic environment, 29th in the quality of institutions and 30th in efficiency of goods markets.

The index listed the most problematic factors for doing business in Israel as inefficient government bureaucracy, an inadequately educated workforce, restrictive labor regulations and tax rates.

Shraga Brosh, Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Israel, said the jump in Israel’s rank was “recognition of the hard work done by the government to improve the business environment,” but that “excessive regulation and bureaucracy remained.”

“The government must act to continue to reduce the burden of regulation and bureaucracy in Israel,” Brosh said.

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