“Surprisingly to some, innovative Israeli solutions to non-technology sectors are attractive to foreign investors as well,” said Schoenfeld. “Pepsi’s $3 billion acquisition of SodaStream and IFF’s $7 billion purchase of Frutarom are good examples of this. There are other Israeli companies that add the innovation piece to other industries such as Delta Galil in apparel, and CesarStone in home improvement goods.”
The M&A activity doesn’t stop there–in the financial sector, global financial service corporations are seeking to expand involvement in Israel’s fintech sector. According to Israel’s non-profit ‘Start Up Nation Central’ organization, about 40 multinational financial services companies are currently operating in Israel with global corporations investing tangible amounts of investment capital in Israeli Fintech–73% of all venture capital-backed investment in Israel’s fintech sector since the beginning of 2018 involving foreign money.
Furthermore, at least 16 global financial service firms like Visa and MasterCard have opened research and development centers, and banks like Barclays and JP Morgan have established innovation incubators in Israel. As more case by case scenarios like these begin to grow, so can the potential in ETFs like ISRA and ITEQ.
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