For the first time since he purchased the company Iscar for $4 billion, American Billionaire Warren Buffet arrives to a special visit to Israel. 2006/09/19 1'58
Billionaire tycoon Warren Buffett, and Iscar founder and former owner, Israeli industrialist Stef Wertheimer, speaks of the successful Israeli high-tech company and its sale last year to Buffet.
May 09, 2008: While Morgan Stanley(MS) decides whether to grant Israel 'developed' country status for its' global indices, this decision will confirm what many savvy investors already know; that Israel is a very hot investment destination. Over the weekend none other than Warren Buffett spoke about his Israeli purchase. Buffett said on Saturday that the company's acquisition last year of the Israeli firm Iscar has worked out better than expected. Buffett said that he had very high expectations when Berkshire struck the deal, and that the metal-cutting-tool maker has "exceeded that in every way." "It's been a dream acquisition," he said.
We all are familiar with the stats. Israel sports the most companies traded on Nasdaq of any country except the US, the billions of venture capital money that continues to flow in, the educated workforce, and I could go on and on. Not to mention the estimated GDP growth of 3.2% for '08, a number that most western nations would love to have. What's so impressive is that all of this has been accomplished in such a short time. What started out as a dream by the country's founders, has, I am sure, exceeded their expectations.
As Israel looks forward to the next 60 years, I think it's safe to say that we can all expect more incredible innovation, as well as Israel becoming even more mainstream as an investment destination.
