Investment Region Naher Osten : Israel

Loss in financial services leads Migdal profit down

Net profit at Migdal dropped 62.4% in the second quarter.

27 Aug 08   09:33

Net profit at Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MGDL) fell 62.4% to NIS 108.5 million in the second quarter of 2008.

Revenue at the insurance firm fell 13.8%, as financing expenses grew 69.4% to NIS 7.63 million.

In its financial services area, the company posted a loss of NIS 676,000, in contrast to a NIS 9.38 million profit in the corresponding quarter.

The sharp drop reflects the contrast between in current market sentiment and activity with that of a year ago. Migdal's financial services revenue reflects its Migdal Capital Markets unit.

Migdal recently completed the acquisition of JP Morgan's 50% stake in the venture.

Bear Stearns and Migdal each owned 50% of Migdal Capital Markets, and JP Morgan bought Bear Stearns.

Migdal now owns 100% of its subsidiary.

Migdal also owns a large real estate portfolio, which grants steady income and management fees for its long term deposits. Its life insurance division reported that the value of its real estate holdings was NIS 223.1 million.

Im Bereich Wassertechnik gehört Israel bereits mit zu den führenden Ländern,was angesichts der klimatischen Bedingungen logisch erscheint. Doch die Negev Wüste sollte auch im Energiesektor Ansporn sein,innovative solare Techniken mit aller Macht voranzutreiben,bisher hat Israel nicht annähernd begonnen,das vorhandene Potential für eine solare Zukunft auszuschöpfen,das die Negev Wüste bietet.

Pioneering 'Green Energy' at a Dairy Farm in the Negev

A Negev couple has pioneered the commercial production of “green energy” on a farm in Ramat HaNegev.

Orit and Moshe Teneh have built the first 50-kilowatt solar energy system in Israel.  The couple set up a smaller, 6-kilowatt system on their solar dairy farm two years ago, slowly adding more to the system in stages until it exceeded 45 kilowatts daily, about one-third of the local dairy’s electricity consumption.

The family “decided to exploit the potential embodied in the sunlight that floods Ramat HaNegev in order to produce an alternative to electricity," according to the community’s website.

The photo-voltaic solar panels used by the farm follow the sun’s motion from dawn to dusk, gathering the energy from the sun’s rays and converting them into electric current.

The energy is immediately transferred directly to the farm’s electric grid, rather than stored in batteries, which would result in a loss of approximately 15 percent of the electricity produced.

Two-thirds of the power that is generated will be sold to the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC).

The farm receives support from the Ramat HaNegev Regional Council in partnership with the Desert Research Institutes at Midreshet Ben-Gurion to explore other clean energy production methods.

The team is working together on a plan to generate additional electricity using wind turbines and to use organic waste as part of the power for the local community.

Der Negev und andere Gebiete fern der Städte und Industrieansiedlungen sollen in den kommenden 3 Jahren von Investitionen profitieren,die das zuständige Ministerium aktuell beschloßen hat.

Ministry of Industry and Trade to invest in periphery Outlying areas will receive around NIS 2.5 billion over the next three years.

26 Aug 08   17:41

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor has announced that it will invest a total of NIS 2.5 billion over the next three years in outlying areas under a program agreed on by its director general and the Ministry of Finance budget director.

The program, which was approved by the cabinet at its meeting yesterday, will employ a wide range of tools and new plans, designed to strengthen outlying areas by providing government backing for economic ventures that could create thousands of jobs.

The director of development for the Galilee and the Negev said that the plan would have a number of focused targets.

Regional industrial zones will qualify for special incentives substantially larger than those awarded to regions classed as Priority A development areas.

In addition, the Investment Promotion Center will set out new guidelines for grants to low or mixed technology companies in these areas.

A research institute for traditional industries will also be opened in one of the regional industrial zones.