1. Good morning, Ms Simona Halperin, Ambassador of Israel to Singapore and East Timor, ladies and gentlemen. Together with Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) and the Israeli Economic and Trade Mission to Singapore, SGX is pleased to welcome you to this conference, which marks the first anniversary of SGX’s partnership with TASE. Thank you for joining us today, as we bring together market leaders to share insights into Israel’s successful transformation into an innovation hub, and to help Asian investors understand how Israel can be the next investment destination.
2. Ranked highly in the world for technological advancements and entrepreneurship, and responsible for many innovations, Israel has earned its status as an innovation powerhouse. Israel is ranked number 5 overall on 2019’s Bloomberg Innovation Index[1], an annual ranking of countries that measures performance in research and development, technology education and patents. 2019’s ranking marked a dramatic rise from last year’s 30th. Warren Buffett calls Israel “the leading, largest, and most promising investment hub outside the United States”, while Bill Gates explains “the innovation going on in Israel is critical to the future of the technology business”.
3. Israel is attracting investors’ attention. The amount of foreign direct investment in Israel has grown more than three times since 2016 to US$35 billion in Q2 2018[2]. SGX recognises the strengths of Israel and is well-placed to support start-ups in Israel which are looking to tap the capital markets and fund their growth plans in Asia and globally.
4. Hence, SGX entered into a partnership with TASE in May last year, focusing on growing capital raising opportunities for companies in the technology sector. For the first time, Israeli companies will be able to raise funds on both markets simultaneously. Dual-listing or performing a simultaneous IPO on both exchanges can assist Israeli issuers in increasing liquidity and gaining attractive valuations from a broad Asian investor base while ensuring domestic demand. Through SGX’s partnership with TASE, we hope to support these companies as they tap the Asian and global capital markets to fund their next stage of growth. This partnership brings together the complementary strengths of both SGX and TASE, creating greater value for issuers and investors and at the same time, extend each exchange’s geographical reach and connectivity.
5. SGX is Asia’s most international and connected exchange, with about 40% of listed companies and over 80% of listed bonds originating outside of Singapore. In addition, as a reflection of SGX’s attraction as a gateway to Asia, most of these listed companies have chosen to list on SGX as a launchpad into the rest of the Asian markets.
6. SGX is currently home to nearly 800 companies from diverse geographical regions and sectors, with a total market capitalisation value of almost S$1 trillion. Our Technology sector has developed a strong investor following and competitive valuations, growing exponentially in recent years. Today, we have over 85 companies in this sector, ranging from precision engineering to Information Technology (IT), including digital e-commerce platforms and fintech services.
7. In the first quarter of 2019, IT was the best-performing sector on SGX, generating a total return to investors of close to 30% and garnering total institutional inflow of about S$100 million, the second-highest inflow after SGX’s flagship REITs sector. We expect continued interest given that this sector has risen to prominence as an important determinant of economic growth, national security, and business competitiveness.
8. There are many synergies between Singapore and Israel, and I hope all the Israeli companies here today will leverage Singapore’s capital markets to accelerate your growth.
9. Finally, I want to thank the Israel Embassy as well as the Israeli Economic and Trade Mission to Singapore, for supporting the event. To our new friends from Israel, I hope to strike the SGX IPO gong with you in the near future. Thank you and have a great day ahead.
[1] https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israel-named-fifth-most-innovative-economy-in-the-world-578313
[2] https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industry/assets/pwc-cornering-the-globe-investing-in-israel.pdf
