Investment Promotion Center
Quotable Quotes: Israeli Economy 2003
Outstanding Human Resources
“Thanks to quality education, Israel is one of the most advanced countries in the world .. Israel is advancing in high-tech even more than other developed countries.”
Bill Gates, CEO Microsoft, World Economic Forum, Davos, January 2000
“Israel has the best engineers in the world... I view Israel as a tremendous source of technologies”
Harry
Bosco, President of Lucent’s Optical Networking Group (in “Globes”, 22 June 2000).
First Class Technology Center
"Israel
is the second Silicon Valley, and it is therefore the only other place we have
chosen to expand our activities."
Sequoia
Capital General Partner Michael Moritz, March 2001
“Israel
leads in encryption software, a by-product of its military industry, as are so
many technologies in which it excels.”
Forbes, “Survival of
the Fastest”, 24 June 2002
“The two leading centres for
innovation- California and Israel, certainly have much in common… both depend
heavily on immigrants; are highly competitive in their business practices;
respect learning and qualifications; and disdain those unprepared to take a
risk. Culture counts.”
The
Economist, 20 February, 1999
“We feel that we must be in Israel today. It is an
innovative and competent country. Ericsson is in Israel to stay.”
Ericsson CEO Kurt Hellström , “Dagens Nyheter Newspaper,” 11 December, 2002
Great Investment Opportunities
“If
you liked investing in Israel in the late 1990s, you’ve got to love it today-
Same talent. Same opportunity. Better prices.”
July 28, 2002. Stanley Gold,
director of the Walt Disney Company; CEO, Shamrock Holdings.
“There’s
a good investment opportunity in Israeli technology stocks… Buy now.”
22
July, 2002 A. Gillies, “Wish Upon a Star” in Forbes Magazine.
“I
think that when the (Israeli venture capital) industry matures, it will create
a great many successful companies in the order of billions of dollars.”
Professor
Paul Gompers, Harvard University Business School, September 2002
“The entry into Israel of an
investment fund the size of Fox Paine is a vote of confidence in the Israeli
economy and its strength. .. We now sense greater interest on the part of
foreign investors.”
A.
Malik, Reliance Capital CEO on Fox Paine’s purchase of Israeli company
Paradigm Geophysical for $100 million- 27 May, 2002
Fundamentally Strong Economy
"We
believe in the fundamental strength of Israel's economy and have confidence in
its long-term potential."
White House spokesman Ari
Fleischer, 16 October, 2002
“The
Israeli economy has withstood major exogenous shocks remarkably well so far.
Once global demand begins to recover, there is a good chance that the economy
will return to its high potential growth path relatively quickly.”
IMF: Israel Interim Staff Visit, Concluding Statement
(Preliminary)—February 26, 2002, Section 12.
“(The economic downturn) has not
undermined foundations laid in prior years”
Moody's
Vice President Jonathan Schiffer, March 6, 2003
“Despite
the ongoing political and economic upheaval in the Middle East, Israel’s innovative
high-tech sector has lost little of its dynamism.”
McKinsey
& Co. (international consultants)
Report, as reported in Digital Israel, 27 August, 2001.
“When
the US economy stages a recovery, the flexibility and structural
characteristics of the Israeli economy means that it will be well-placed to
stage a quick recovery of its own.”
International ratings agency, Fitch- report on
Israel, Feb 10, 2002.
Prepared by Dani Wassner. Updated 19 March 2003.
dani@moital.gov.il