ISRAEL TRADE COMMISSION Newsletter June 2005

 

SUCCESS STORIES Israeli companies in Australia NEW INNOVATIONS FEATURE ARTICLE In the limelight ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL & BIOTECH TRENDS What's happening in Israel Australian Visit of the Israel Mobile Association UPCOMING EVENTS

Dear friends and colleagues,  A group of 11 Israeli mobile technology companies came to Australia last week to explore opportunities in the Australian market. The group of companies is part of the IMA - Israel Mobile Association (www.imaworld.org) which includes in its portfolio 100 companies, some of them market leaders in their fields. This unique delegation included a variety of companies representing different aspects of mobile technology:  Core network infrastructure: , Radvision, Radcom and Septier; Application and Services: Bamboo, Celltick , Olista, Telmap, Tellemessage,  Starhome and Unipier ; Services: TTI.  Paul O'sullivan, the CEO of OPTUS and his senior managment team met the group and also hosted a networking event for them. The group also held meetings with Telstra, Vodaphone and met with vendors and system integrators and other players in the market. The visit to Australia gave the Israeli companies a unique opportunity to meet the main players in the Australian telecommunication market and to establish working relationships with them. Since Israel is considered a hotbed of telecommunication technologies, especially mobile technologies, the group gave an opportunity for the Telcos to be exposed to latest developments in that area. We invite you to visit our website to see the presentations of the Israeli companies that were part of the delegation - www.israeltrade.org.au In September 2005 we anticipate the visit of Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Indusry and Trade, Ehud Olmert. Mr. Olmert will lead a business delegation from Israel to Australia and we look forward to this exceptional opportunity to increase trade between the two countries.  Nili Shalev Israel Trade Commissioner 6/37 York Street Sydney, NSW Tel: 02 92623943 www.israeltrade.org.au

 

 

Success Stories Israeli companies in Australia

 

TELSTRA COULD INCREASE SPENDING IN ISRAEL Australian telecommunications operator Telstra could increase its annual spending on Israeli hi-tech products to $90 million-$100m. a year according Ted Pretty, the group managing director of technology, innovation and products. Pretty was in Israel as part of an Australian trade delegation. Telstra spent $30m. in Israel in 2004 on new and ongoing agreements, but Pretty believes there is the potential to increase that. The companies from which Telstra buys products include billing software provider Amdocs and communications software maker Comverse Technology. In addition to deepening existing relationships, Pretty is also looking to create new ones.

OPTUS SAMPLES MOE WIRELESS It will be at least 2006 before Optus makes any decision on whether or not to roll out another wireless broadband network to run in parallel with its forthcoming 3G mobile service. The company has announced that a new wireless broadband trial, to be conducted in conjunction with Siemens, will take place with business customers on the Gold Coast. Six businesses had been confirmed for the trial. The trial will use an Israeli company, Alvarion's Breeze ACCESS VL product, which uses orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) protocols in the 5GHz band. The trial will run for six months. Using a single base station, it will evaluate the capacity and reach of the technology.

KIBBUTZ EREZ WINS $3m AUSTRALIAN TENDER Erez Thermoplastic Products Ltd. owned by Kibbutz Erez in the Negev, has won a $3 million international tender published by Australian company Jaylon Group. Erez Thermoplastic will supply Jaylon with special plastic sheeting for covering and sealing temporary grain depots in open fields. Erez Thermoplastic Products marketing manager Ronny Levin said Australia was one of the world's largest growers of grain, and was a granary of the world. Jaylon is establishing above-ground 6,000-sq.m. temporary grain depots at a number of sites across Australia, intended to store grain for 6-12 months, until the grain is marketed according to demand on international crop exchanges.

 

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INTRODUCTION OF NEW INNOVATIONSS

 

ISRAELI 'BASEBALL' CAMERA SPIES OUT TERRORISTS The Eye Ball - a futuristic palm-sized camera that you throw like a baseball - can be tossed into a high-risk room or building, and provide a 360-degree panorama of what's inside. Tel Aviv-based ODF Optronics has made it a reality - and its mechanical eye, dubbed the Eye Ball R1 - is going to make law enforcement agencies in the US and around the world breathe a little easier from now on. The Eye Ball R1 - a palm-sized, camera-laden device was designed to be thrown into environments deemed too risky for personnel to enter, like collapsed buildings or for counter-terrorism operations. Capable of producing a 360 degree view, it works by dispatching images wirelessly to a remote receiver. The Eye Ball R1 was developed specifically for use by military Special Operations (SPECOPS), law enforcement SWAT/SRT operations, anti-terrorism/counterterrorism operations, and hostage rescue operations. Due to its rugged construction, the Eye Ball R1 can be rolled, tossed, or thrown wherever necessary.

ISRAELI RESEARCHERS BRING NANOTECHNOLOGIES TO LIFE An Israeli team led by Dr. Dafna Benayahu of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine is working with 27 other research groups from throughout Europe to revolutionize medical technology. Their goal in the five-year project is to develop the nano-scale tools needed to create a 'tissue machine' - a device using stem cells that could produce, for the first time, a specific population of cells or tissue needed to heal a variety of ailments. The project, being supported by the European Union at a cost of 30 million euro, is called 'CellPROM,' short for 'cell programming.' Scientists already know how to take individual stem cells, nature's template cell, and program them to turn into one or another kind of tissue. CellPROM strives to lay the scientific foundations for accelerating and automating this process on a large and industrially viable scale. The kind of stem cells being studied are not embryonic, but rather adult stem cells, which are found in bone marrow.

 

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Economic News and Trends in Israel

 

CISCO NEGOTIATING TO AQUIRE SHEER NETWORKS Communications equipment giant Cisco Systems is negotiating to acquire Israel start-up Sheer Networks for $100 million. Sheer Networks designs network service management solutions for communications providers and large enterprises. The company's solutions are designed to handle the wide variety of protocols and hardware used on the network.

ISRAEL HAS JUMPED IN GLOBAL COMPETITIVE NESS RANKINGS Israel is the new star in the world competitiveness rankings, just released by the Swiss business school IMD. For 2005, Israel ranked 25th out of 60 countries, rising a full eight places, from 33rd a year ago. This was the largest jump in the ranking of any country in 2005.

EBAY IS PUCHASING SHOPPING.COM Online auction site eBay is purchasing Israeli online comparison shopping company Shopping.com for $620 million. Shopping.com (formerly Dealtime) was founded in 1997 with initial financing from Israel Seed Partners. Last October, the company was floated on Nasdaq at a value of $500 million. After the flotation, the share price jumped to give the company a market cap of $1 billion.

 

WORLD BANK TO OPEN LIAISON OFFICE IN ISRAEL World Bank president Mr.James D. Wolfensohn and Mr.Yechiel Assia, director of Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute signed an agreement to set up a Private Sector Liaison Office (PSLO) in Israel that will help Israeli companies participate in World Bank projects in third countries. The Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute (IEICI) was selected by the World Bank Group to host the Private Sector Liaison Office (PSLO) of the group in Israel. The Israeli Liaison Office will be located at the International Projects Division of the IEICI, in cooperation with Israel's Manufacturers Association and the Israeli Federation of Chambers of Commerce. Mr. Yitzhak Rozen will be its director.

ALVARION ANNOUNCED COMPLETION OF STONEBRIDGE WIRELESS BROADBAND Alvarion announced the completion of StoneBridge Wireless Broadband's (a privately-held wireless Internet service provider based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota) regional rollout and the beginning of expansion into new regions. To date, StoneBridge has purchased and deployed approximately $2.5 million of Alvarion's wireless broadband equipment to provide broadband connections primarily to business customers. StoneBridge's fixed wireless broadband network delivers high-speed Internet access that supports bundled data, VoIP, bandwidth on demand, wireless redundancy, VPNs, email, video services and more.

FIVE-YEAR PLAN AIMED AT DOUBLING ISRAEL WINE EXPORTS Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor Ehud Olmert has approved a five-year plan aimed at doubling Israel wine exports. A committee recommended a plan which is aimed at branding Israeli wine as high-quality, with a wine producing tradition dating back thousands of years. Under the export plan, one million dollars will be invested annually for the next five years. Yaron Kimhi, chairman of the Israel Wine Institute said that success of the plan is expected to result in the expansion of vineyards, improve the ranking of Israeli wines, and contribute to incoming tourism. Israel's wine exports totaled $13.2 million in 2004, 15 percent more than in 2003.

 

TENDER FOR NEW EILAT AIRPORT OUT THIS YEAR Sources closed to the Mayor of Eilat said that Minister of Transport Meir Sheetrit told Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzkhak-Halevy that the international tender for building a new airport north of Eilat will be issued by the end of 2005. The Minister of Transport instructed the planners to speed up work in order to make it possible to publish the tender by the end of this year. It is believed that the planning stage will end in August allowing the tender to be published in October or early in November. It is understood that the statutory planning work is in its final stages, and that work on the proposed site would begin once the plan become statutorily enforced.

ISRAEL TOP FOR R&D SPENDING AS PROPORTION OF GDP National spending on civilian research and development (R&D) in Israel totaled NIS 25.6 billion in 2004. As a proportion of GDP, this was 4.6%, down from 4.7% in 2003, and 4.8% in 2002, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. 75% of spending on civilian R&D was by the business sector. Spending by the business sector on R&D rose by 2% at fixed prices in 2004. Much of the rise was in software services. Government spending on civilian R&D fell 6%. Israel is ranked first in the world for civilian R&D spending as a proportion of GDP. In second place is Sweden, with R&D spending amounting to 4.1% of GDP.

INSIGHTEC RAISED $80m InSightec, the Tirat Hacarmel-based company which has raised $80 million, is set for a Nasdaq IPO at a value of $600- $700million. The firm's ExAblate 2000 system, a "virtual scalpel" is being used to remove tumors, fibroids and cancers non-invasively. ExAblate 2000 is a surgical system that combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and focused ultrasound to treat tumors inside the body non-invasively. The system is currently in use worldwide and has received FDA approval for the treatment of uterine fibroids. Clinical trials are underway to examine its use for removing cancerous and benign tumors.

 

FISCHER RECOMMENDED BOLSTERING ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY In his first public appearance since his appointment as Governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Stanley Fischer recommended bolstering economic productivity, and increasing investment in education and technology. Fischer said that a window of opportunity for long-term economic growth, export expansion, and political and security independence was now opening. Fischer estimated Israel's growth potential at 5-6 percent a year.

TEVA ENTERED INTO AGREEMENT WITH PROTEOLOGICS Teva Pharmaceuticals has entered into a strategic agreement with biotechnology company Proteologics to examine the feasibility of developing cancer treatments based on their discoveries with ubiquitin. Nobel prize winners Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko joined Proteologics' advisory board when the company changed its focus to ubiquitin. Ubiquitin serves as a regulator of cellular activity, and is responsible for detecting up to 90 percent of the mishaps in cellular function.

JOINT VENTURE FOR CHINESE AND ISRAELI VC FUND Chinese venture capital fund Shenzhen Capital Group (SCGC), has signed a joint venture agreement to inaugurate a new $80 million VC fund with Israel's PNV-New Management Co. The new fund, called China Israel Venture Capital (CIVC), will focus on introducing Israeli technologies into Chinese later-stage and pre-IPO technology companies. CIVC intends to focus on next generation communication technologies, semiconductors, IT, enterprise software, life sciences, and new materials. The joint venture allows the invested companies to benefit from China's low-cost manufacturing and marketing channels.

 

 

 

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IN THE LIMELIGHT

 

NEW APPROACH FOR STONE SETTING A new approach for stones setting by Guy Bar-Yosef is to be presented at Jovella 2005 the professional jewelry fair to be held in Tel-Aviv. Guy is a young Israeli jewelry designer. He is Bachelor of Jewelry Design of the Faculty for Jewelry Design in the Shenkar Engineering and Design Academic Institution.  As part of his graduation final project , Guy developed a new approach for stones setting . By introducing tiny screws in the setting process a semi automatic process replaced the currently manual process, improves the manufacturing flexibility starting with the design through logistics of parts and ending with post sales service. Guy has been designing and creating unique, one-of–a-kind jewels using variety of precious and semi precious stones and multiple variations of gold / silver crating a unique collection. Guy is also serving as the designer and models creator of a leading jewels manufacturer in Israel. Jovella is an Israeli event that offers both domestic and foreign visitors fresh designs and new spirit in jewelry in an artistic mesh of ultramodern and traditional art, east and west, ancient and modern. Contemporary Israeli design is well regarded in fashion and architecture. Now, a new generation of jewelry designers offers yet another showcase for this spirit of art in industry and industry of art.

BIOMOR - SAVING THE WORLD FOR OUR CHILDREN Fresh fruits and vegetables should be an enjoyable and healthy part of life. But growing concern about the effects of chemical pesticides has taken away some of the enjoyment - and as a result, more consumers in are looking for produce to be grown without chemicals. An ongoing problem for farmers has been meeting that increasing demand, while still maintaining healthy crops free from fungus, mildew and other plant diseases. A young Israeli company called Biomor believes that the secret to effectively fighting plant disease in an environmentally-friendly 'green' manner lies in a natural plant extract: tea tree oil. Tea tree oil - the key ingredient in Biomor's two products Timor and Timorex - is an essential oil steam distilled from the Australian plant Melaleuca alternifolia, which contains over 100 components. This natural oil is an effective antiseptic, fungicide and bactericide, and has been used safely and effectively in the health and cosmetics industry for years. The initial success of Biomor's products in Israel and the tremendous amount of international interest and excitement as they have begun marketing abroad points to a bright future - so bright that the company recently won the award for the best project among the new Israeli companies that are currently part of the government's Technological Incubator Program.

 

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IN THE LIMELIG

AUSTRALIAN VISIT of the ISRAEL MOBILE ASSOCIATION 20 - 24 June 2005 Sydney & Melbourne LIST OF DELEGATES

 

Bamboo Multicasting Bamboo MediaCasting solutions enable WASPs and Cellular Operators multicast compelling rich-media services to mobile mass markets. www.bamboomc.com Celltick Celltick is a global leader in mobile broadcasting and active idle screen solutions. www.celltick.com Olista Olista, the Service Experience Assurance pioneer, develops and markets innovative solutions for assuring the quality of mobile data services. www.olista.com Radcom Cellular Performer network monitoring and troubleshooting solution for HSDPA/ UMTS/GPRS/ CDMA networks. (Nasdaq: RDCM) www.radcom.com Radvision Visual communication solutions and technologies over IP and 3G that enable service providers to deploy a variety of multimedia services. (Nasdaq: RVSN) www.radvision.com Septier Offers Telecom Network Monitoring and Surveillance, Fraud Prevention, Location and Positioning systems and Call Completion Enhancement Applications, all based on unique passive signaling monitoring system. www.septier.com Starhome Starhome is the leading global provider of mobile roaming technology and services to Mobile Network Operators, enabling them to maximize revenues by enhancing roaming services. www.starhome.com Telmap Telmap's mobile navigation solutions enable operators to increase their data traffic. www.telmap.com Telemessage TeleMessage Mail Plug-in: Send E-mail as Phone calls, SMSs and Faxes from MS-Outlook and Lotus Notes.   www.telemessage.com  TTI Telecom TTI is a leading global provider of Network Management Systems (NMS) and Operations Support Systems (OSS) for telecommunications service providers. (Nasdaq: TTIL) www.tti-telecom.com Unipier Centralized mobile data service delivery and control, personalization and branding, campaigns and promotions, communities and entertainment services. www.unipier.com

 

 

 

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DIARISE THE DATES NOW!

 

Jovella 2005 28th - 29th June, 2005

Jovella 2005 – The International Jewellery Trade Fair in Israel Jovella 2005 will take place in David Intercontinental Convention Center, Tel Aviv, Israel between 28th - 29th June 2005. Jovella 2005 is one of the central events in Israeli jewellery industry. The fair will attract buyers worldwide and offer both Israeli and foreign visitors fresh designs and new spirit in jewellery in an artistic mesh of ultramodern and traditional art. For More information, please click here.

 

Hardware 13th - 15th Sept, 2005

Hardware & DIY 2005 Hardware & D.I.Y. 2005 will be held between 13th -15th Sept 2005 in the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center, Tel-Aviv. Hardware & D.I.Y. 2005 will be an ideal place for exhibitors to present their very latest equipment and products to professionals from the industry, including buyers from the world's leading D.I.Y. retailers and distributors. It will give the visitors an opportunity to get acquainted with the latest developments, meet the people that design and manufacture them and strike new and profitable deals. For More information, please click here.

 

Agritech 9th - 11th May, 2006

16th International Agriculture Exhibition Israel’s agriculture industry is one of its most important eco­nomic assets. Israel’s steady growth in agricultural production is a result of the cooperation between researchers, farmers, and agriculture-related industries. The industry has developed a agribusiness that exports agro-technology solutions world­wide. The 16th International Agriculture Exhibition will take place in Tel-Aviv May 9-11, 2006.  For more information, please click here.

 

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