Ministry of Finance Launches an International Public Information Campaign to Attract Foreign Investors to Israel
First Target: The Heads of the European Financial Community
Against the backdrop of a decline in foreign investments in Israel, Minister of Finance Dr. Yuval Steinitz, and Acting Director General of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Doron Cohen, joined by leading members of the Israeli business community, headed this morning for Europe to attend the Bloomberg Sovereign Debt Conference, with the aim of promoting Israel as an economic haven and attractive investment center.
The delegation accompanying the minister will include the Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Commissioner in the Ministry of Finance, Prof. Adi Sarig; the Chairman of the ISCAR company, Mr. Eitan Wertheimer; the General Manager of Intel Israel and Vice President of Intel International, Ms. Maxine Fassberg; the Chief Scientist in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, Mr. Avi Hasson; the CEO of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Ms. Esther Levanon, and the former Director General of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Haim Shani.
The Bloomberg Sovereign Debt Conference is being held to discuss developments in the European debt crisis and assess opportunities for attractive and sustainable investments. At the conference, the Israeli delegation will meet with senior European policymakers and high-level executives of European financial institutions and spell out to them the advantages of the Israeli economy against the background of today’s global economic challenges.
The activities of the minister and the delegation at the conference are one facet of an international public information campaign that is being launched by the Ministry of Finance to attract investments toIsraeland exploit the opportunities presented by the complex global financial situation. The campaign follows a decline in recent months in foreign investments inIsraeland is based on an understanding of the importance of foreign investments at the present juncture for sustaining economic growth. It will be conducted in cooperation with some of the world’s leading economic media outlets, ensuring a wide reach that includes key financial decision makers.
The visit of the Minister of Finance toGermanyfollows a series of meetings held by him in recent months with officials inIndia, theUnited StatesandChina, with a view to generating foreign interest in investment opportunities inIsraeland expanding Israeli exports.
The conference inGermanyis being organized by Bloomberg and will receive extensive media coverage, including on Bloomberg TV which caters to an investor and business audience that is of particular importance forIsrael. Bloomberg TV and Bloomberg Business Week are media leaders, worldwide and especially inEurope, and they exert great influence on decision makers in government and in the business world.
Dr. Steinitz will be one of the featured speakers at the conference. In his presentation he will portrayIsrael as an attractive investment destination that has charted a prudent and responsible course through the global economic crisis, maintaining impressive financial strength and security in the face of complex challenges.
The conference, which is to be held inFrankfurt, the capital of the German and, to some extent, the European economy, will be attended by some 150 opinion leaders, among them the heads of international financial organizations as well as leading banks and investment houses, international rating companies and central regulatory agencies. The Minister of Finance and the Israeli delegation will play a significant part in the conference, with the minister scheduled to moderate several panel discussions on the Israeli economy as a model of economic strength and stability in a time of crisis.
The Israeli delegation to the conference is acting in collaboration with the Foreign Trade Administration in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
While in Frankfurt, the Israeli delegation will hold additional meetings on economic issues outside the conference framework, including with representatives of the European Central Bank (ECB), the Deutsche Börse, the German Commerzbank, the multinational investment management corporation BlackRock and the international pharmaceutical giant Merck.
