A. Major Bilateral Economic and Commercial Developments
1. Tourism
Mr. Subodh Kant Sahai, Cabinet Minister of Tourism, Government of India, visited Israel from June 23-26, 2012 on the invitation of his Israeli counterpart, Mr. Stas Misezhnikov. The Minister was accompanied by Mr. Chandan Brahma, the Hon’ble Minister of Tourism from the State of Assam, Ms Amrita Rawat, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism from the State of Uttarakhand; and senior tourism officials from the States of Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jammu & Kashmir. Minister Sahai and Minister Misezhnikov met on June 24 to consider the ways in which the two governments can enhance tourism between the respective countries. They also identified areas of cooperation in the travel and hospitality sectors, through capacity building, exchanges of visits of tour operators and cooperation between the private sectors. Minister Sahai met Mr. Israel Katz, Hon’ble Minister of Transportation to review civil aviation linkages between the two countries.
On 25th June India’s Ministry of Tourism, organized an Incredible India Tourism Roadshow, to promote tourism from Israel to India. CEO’s and Presidents of major Israeli travel and tour operators, Business Chambers and senior officials from the government of Israel participated in the event.
2. Technology
The third Israel-India Technology Forum "Gyan Milan was held on June 3-6, in Tel Aviv, to give CIO-CEOs from India, access to the Israeli hi-tech sector. The Indian delegates met Israeli companies, participated in an innovation session that was facilitated by SIT- Systematic Inventive Thinking, and visited R&D centers of Israeli IT companies. The Forum organized by A&G Partners along with the Consulate General in Mumbai and Foreign Ministry, was also supported by the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce and The Manufacturers Association. MK. Ronit Tirosh, Head of the Science and Technology Committee in the Knesset opened the seminar. The Indian delegation included representatives from leading companies such as Aditya Birla, Infosys, Godrej, Hinduja, Welspun, Eureka Forbes, ITC Infotech and Escorts.
3. Technology
India and Israel are announcing a new Call for Proposals for joint R&D projects in all technological fields. The Call is jointly administered by MATIMOP – The Israeli Industry Center for R&D, on behalf of the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) of the Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor in Israel, and GITA, the Global Innovation and Technology Alliance, on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, in the framework of the India-Israel Initiative for Industrial R&D (i4RD). This call is open to all projects based on merit that include science and technology (S&T) development leading to commercial success, social good and benefit to both countries. Eligible Indian applicants include: researchers and managers representing Indian companies (minimum 51% of Indian ownership), which operate and are headquartered in India. For further information please contact: Mr. Samrat Ghatak Programme Coordinator – Israel Global Innovation & Technology Alliance Tel: 91-11- 45772005 Email: samrat.ghatak@gita.org.in; India-Israel@gita.org.in; samrat.ghatak@cii.in
B. Economic updates in Israel
1. Israel’s interest rate
The Bank of Israel left the country's key interest rate unchanged for June 2012 at 2.5 % for the fourth month in a row, due to the expected rate of inflation for the coming two or three years, at 2.4-2.6 %.
2.Electricity
State-run Israel Electric Corp (IEC) reported a huge loss in the first quarter, hurt by higher fuel costs and a new pension agreement with workers. IEC, Israel's main electricity provider, posted a quarterly loss of 1.47 billion shekels ($379 million) against a profit of 147 million a year earlier. The company recorded a 72.4 % jump in the cost of fuel to 3.88 billion shekels, largely due to a halt in the supply of natural gas from Egypt - which was 40 % of IEC's gas needs. The rest comes from natural gas wells off Israel's Mediterranean coast1.
3. Intel Opens Research center in Israel
Intel, the US semiconductor giant, has decided to establish a research center in Israel to study the interaction between humans and technology. It will have a $15 million, five year budget and bring together researchers from the Technion Institute of Technology and the Hebrew University.
4. Chinese Bank to fund Israeli Solar Energy Projects
The China Development Bank has offered to finance Israeli solar energy projects, the first time that a foreign bank has expressed an interest in the sector. The bank is offering to finance mid-sized and large projects of up to 50 MW. As a condition for financing, the China Development Bank will require the venture to buy solar panels from Chinese manufacturer ET Solar, or for the company to build the project.
C. Israeli Innovations
1. Medicine
Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have achieved, for the first time, the generation of neuronal cells from stem cells of Fragile X patients. The discovery paves the way for research that will examine restoration of normal gene expression in Fragile X patients.
2. Medicine
Mazor Robotics announced that its robotic guidance technology was successfully used in the first ever robot-guided brain surgical procedures. The surgeries were conducted at HSK Hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany. Regulatory approval for the brain application of the robotic guidance technology is pending and Mazor hopes to be able to market the brain application early in 2013.
3. Life Science
Burrill &Co, one of the world’s largest life sciences investment fund, unveiled a $200 million fund to invest in Israeli life science companies. Based in San Francisco, California, the fund operates worldwide. Fragile X syndrome is the most common cause of inherited mental retardation, affecting hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide. The syndrome is caused by lack of normal expression (functioning) of the FMR1 gene that is critical for normal cognitive function in brain neuronal cells2.
4. Water
Israeli company Water-Gen, made a compact, vehicle-mounted Water Generator Unit to extract water from air and supply cold, fresh, pure drinking water for the vehicle's crew. The system is optimized to operate in a wide range of environmental conditions. Units are scaled to fit military tactical vehicles, and can be produced in different dimensions and shapes. Cold water is served from a tap within the system or inside the cabin. Water-Gen has sold 2 prototypes of this product in India through an Indian Company BGR Energy.
D. India-Israel Bilateral Trade Statistics
Bilateral Trade in May 2012 (in US$ millions)
India’s Exports
Israel’s Exports
Total Bilateral trade
% change **
174.2
204.2
378.4
- 14.64% (from $ 443.3)
* Source: Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). * *Compared to May 2011.
Bilateral Trade during Jan- May 2012 (in US$ millions)
India’s Exports
Israel’s Exports
Total Bilateral trade
% change **
877.8
1044.5
1922.3
- 10.66%(from $ 2151.9)
* Source: Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). ** Compared to Jan-May 2011.
(a) Balance of Trade during Jan-May 2012 is in Israel’s favor by US$ 166.7 Million. (b) During Jan-May 2012, India was ranked the 9th largest trade partner of Israel in the world, and the 3rd largest trade partner in Asia following China and Hong Kong (*Trade data includes diamonds. ** CBS gives separate trade data for Hong Kong). (c) In 2011, trade in diamonds amounted to US$ 2.91 billion, 56.4% of total bilateral trade (US$ 5.153 billion). During Jan-May 2012 trade in diamonds amounted to US$ 1.07 billion, 55.64% of the total bilateral trade (US$ 1922.3 million).
Israel’s top trade partners in Jan-May 2012 (in US$ millions)
USA
China
Hong Kong
Belgium
Germany
United kingdom
Switzerland
Netherlands
India
11261.1
3439.3
2594.4
3012.2
2701.3
2509.9
2594.4
2279.9
1922.3
* Source: Israel Central Bureau of Statistics ** Trade data including diamonds.
(b) Analysis of trade figures
* India’s share in Israel’s two way global trade in this period decreased from 3.6% (in Jan- May 2011) to 3.24% (in Jan- May 2012).
For the period of Jan-May 2012:
- India is ranked 5th largest export destination of Israel (including diamonds) and 9th when excluding diamonds (in Jan-May 2012). - India is ranked 11th largest import source of Israel including diamonds, and 17th largest import source excluding diamonds (in Jan-May 2012).
In the month of May 2012:
- Israel’s two-way global trade decreased by 6.04% from US$ 13.2 billion in May 2011 to US$ 12.41 Billion in May 2012. India’s share in Israel’s two-way global trade decreased from 3.35% in May 2011 to 3.04% in May 2012.
Source: Commercial Section, Embassy of India, TEL AVIV
