2005 -Foreign investment in Israel expected to reach $6b

Investment Promotion Center director Rachel Roei said last week that Direct foreign investment in January-April 2005 totaled $2.1 billion and is expected to reach $6 billion by the end of the year.
 
Roei added that in 2004, foreign investment in Israel amounted to USD 6.1 billion, and of that, USD 1.8 billion came from direct investment. She noted that Investors are interested mainly in high-tech, communications, and information technology; life sciences; and homeland security.
 
The Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor is formulating, following the rise in direct investment by foreign companies, a plan for aid in expanding development centers and other tools for marketing Israel as a preferred investment target. In addition, the department is developing a "tool kit" - an Internet site, investors' booklet , and PR film - to help sell Israel as an investment potential, focusing on success stories of international companies in Israel.
 
Roei added that the promotion plan was designed in the main to cause multinational companies to prefer locating their development centers in Israel rather than in other countries, mainly India, China, and Eastern Europe.