ICEN articles from January 1991

ICEN archives from January 1991

BTG to exploit Cubital technology. (British Technology Group, Cubital Ltd., Solider 5600, medical computer simulation)
January 4, 1991... Cubital Ltd. of Herzliya have licensed their Solider 5600 technology to the British Technology Group (BTG) for exploitation in the medical field. Cubital Ltd is owned by four partners -- two German corporations renowned for precise optical and...

Bronfman acquires 33% of Osem. (Bronfman Associates)
January 4, 1991... The Bronfman Group will realize its option to acquire 33 percent of Osem shares; the deal is worth $26,750,000 and is based on the company valuation of $81 million. The package of Osem and associated companies was put onto the market by two of...

Magic in the USSR. (Mashov Computers' MAGIC, computer software)
January 4, 1991... Mashov Computers, producers of the MAGIC application generator software program, have signed an agreement to establish a marketing arm in the Soviet Union. The marketing arm will be established in conjunction with The Progress Institute, a...

IDF land for absorption. (Israel. Defense Forces)
January 4, 1991... The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has presented its plan to absorb 70,000 new immigrants to the Absorption Cabinet. The IDF plans to turn over 21 training areas and installations to the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption for the stationing of...

New Director General of Finance Ministry. (Shalom Singer, Israel. Ministry of Finance)
January 4, 1991... Shalom Singer, former general manager of The First International Bank, has been appointed Director General of the Ministry of Finance. "At this difficult time for the Israeli economy, I could not refuse the Finance Minister's request." Singer...

Bank share scandal indictments. (Israel)
January 4, 1991... A 40-page bill of indictment has been submitted to the Jerusalem district court, formally charging 22 bankers, accountants and banks with violations of various securities and banking laws. Included in the indictment are: Ernest Japhet, former...

$80 million '90 software exports. (Israel)
January 4, 1991... Software exports for 1990 are expected to finalize at between $75 million to $80 million reports Arik Zur, executive-director of the Israel Association of Software Houses. If this estimate is achieved, it signifies a 34 percent increase over...

World standard digital information compressor. (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology product development)
January 4, 1991... An innovative method of compressing digital information, developed by two Technion - Israel Institute of Technology professors has been adopted as an international standard. The "Lempel-Ziv Algorithm" was developed by Professor Abraham Lempel...

Population - 4,882,000. (Israel)
January 4, 1991... The Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the largest increase in the population of the State of Israel since 1951 has been recorded this year. At the end of 1990, the population is estimated to be 4,882,000. This is an increase of 5.7...

Greater income disparity. (Israel)
January 4, 1991... A National Insurance Institute (NII) study has found that the relative economic situation of the middle class has worsened, and that the gap between wage earners has increased; at the same time, increased NII payouts to the lower class has...

Genetic venture. (Scopus Genetics) (Agriculture)
January 4, 1991... The $29 million Athena Venture Capital Fund, in conjunction with Hebrew University, has established a company called Scopus Genetics, which will find agricultural and veterinary applications for results of biological and genetic engineering...

More money for agriculture. (Israel. Ministry of Agriculture budget request) (Agriculture)
January 4, 1991... The Ministry of Agriculture is demanding a special development budget of $200 million per year for the next five years to remove unprofitable crops and switch to crops which require less water. The requested funds would also be used to...

Flower exports blossom. (Israel) (Agriculture)
January 4, 1991... Flower exports totaled $23 million (FOB) for the January-December 15 period, a 31.5 percent increase over the parallel 1989 period; thus far in 1990, 190 million flowers have been exported. Aryeh Zeif, deputy-director (exports) of the Ministry...

4% more airport passengers. (David Ben Gurion International Airport) (Aviation)
January 4, 1991... A rise of only 3.06 percent in the number of passengers (including immigrants) going through the Ben Gurion Airport in 1990 was recorded compared to 1989. From a statistical report completed by the Airport Authority it appears that 3,627,530...

Non-stop from Berlin. (Interflug Airline begins Berlin, Germany flights to Israel) (Aviation)
January 4, 1991... Interflug, formerly the national airline of East Germany, will begin non-stop service between Berlin and Israel. There will be one flight per week in each direction, utilizing an Airbus 310, which seats 166 passengers in tourist class and 42...

Foreign airlines oppose fee increase. (Israel Airports Authority) (Aviation)
January 4, 1991... The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) has called for an increase in airport fees of 10 percent to 15 percent, a move strongly opposed by the organization of foreign airlines operating in Israel. If such an increase is implemented, claims a...

No Peabody equity in Mizrahi. (Kidder, Peabody and Company Inc., United Mizrahi Bank Ltd.) (Banking)
January 4, 1991... The U.S. consulting and investment firm Kidder Peabody will not invest in the United Mizrahi Bank acquisition; rather the American firm will try to organize the Hachsharat Hayishuv Group to purchase a controlling interest in the bank (see ICEN,...

New American Israel director. (American Israel Bank, Moshe Tsafir) (Banking)
January 4, 1991... Moshe Tsafrir, presently manager of Bank Hapoalim's northern region, has been appointed managing director of American Israel Bank, a Bank Hapoalim subsidiary. Tsafrir will replace Avraham Scher, who will be transferred to Bank Hapoalim's...

Poison in the bay. (Haifa, Israel) (Chemicals)
January 4, 1991... Several workers at the north Haifa port were poisoned by a toxin, which was unloaded without permission and without proper precautions. According to Dr. Israel Barzelay, director of noxious materials department in the Ministry of the...

Malam to map 14,000 dunam. (Malam Systems Ltd. contract) (Communications)
January 4, 1991... Malam Systems Ltd. has won the Bezeq (The Israel Telecommunication Corp. Ltd.) tender to carry out digital mapping of an area of 14,000 dunam in the central zone of the country. Malam Systems specializes in the development, setting up and...

More anti-virus programs. (C.S.E. markets VCARE, anti-virus computer software program) (Computers)
January 4, 1991... The Israeli software house C.S.E. is marketing an anti-virus program--VCARE, which according to it's developers Zvi and Amir Nativ (father and son) includes a new dimension in the defense against computer viruses. They claim that using their...

Eldor checks Unisys. (Eldor Computers to acquire Clal Systems, distributor of Unisys Corp. computers) (Computers)
January 4, 1991... Eldor Computers, Israeli representative of Nixdorf and Tandem, is said to be conducting negotiations to acquire Clal Systems from its parent company Clal Computers and Technology. Clal Systems are the distributors of the U.S. computer producer...

R.T.S. wins $700,000 export project. (R.T.S. Relational Technology Systems Ltd.) (Computers)
January 4, 1991... R.T.S. Relational Technology Systems Ltd. has won a $700,000 contract to develop software for an American marketing company. The contract was procured through Eyal Shavit, an Israel Export Institute employee who runs an instruction program for...

Yeda wins Apple award. (Yeda Computers, Apple Computer Inc.'s Award of Excellence) (Computers)
January 4, 1991... Yeda Computers has received an Award of Excellence for its success in marketing Apple computers in Israel. Only two countries--Germany and Israel--received the prestigious award conferred by Apple. Yeda sold $20 million worth of Macintosh...

Data General to expand presence. (Data General Technology) (Computers)
January 4, 1991... Data General has decided to expand its operations in Israel with the establishment of a new company Data General Technology. Thomas Granot will be named general manager of the new company; he currently serves as general manager at Team...

Lan-Net wins $100,000 Renault deal. (Regie Nationale des Usines Renault) (Computers)
January 4, 1991... Lan-Net, a subsidiary of Bynet Data Communications, has won a $100,000 contract to supply Renault of France with its Multinet system. Lan-Net was up against some of the largest competitors in the field.

Koor accord may be delayed. (Koor Industries Ltd.) (Conglomerates)
January 4, 1991... In a letter to the labor federation holding company Hevrat Ha'ovdim, in the framework of the overall Koor accord, Finance Minister Yitzhak Moda'i has demanded collateral in return for the $100 million State guarantee. Furthermore, Moda'i...

Romanian workers for goods. (Romanian-Israeli relations) (Construction)
January 4, 1991... Romania is prepared to send construction crews to Israel to help in the building of new immigrant housing in exchange for the purchase of much-needed food and pharmaceuticals from Israel, according to Romanian President Ion Iliescu. MK Ora...

Tromasbest stock jumps 784.4%. (Construction)
January 4, 1991... Acre based Tromasbest, a 30-year-old manufacturer of mobile homes and prefabricated housing, has seen its stock price jump 784.4 percent in the last year. The company's sales increased by 233 percent. While last year, Tromasbest had sales of...

Construction firms register increase. (Israel) (Construction)
January 4, 1991... The recession in new apartment sales during successive years 1988-1989 lessened at the beginning of 1990 and vanished completely by December, 1990. The 11 largest construction companies sold 4,352 new apartments in 1990. The annual growth...

Gehl extradition may be requested. (Zorah Gehl) (Criminal)
January 4, 1991... Jerusalem district court prosecutors will apparently request the extradition of Zorah Gehl, former managing director of Dubek, from London. Gehl is accused of falsifying documents and of embezzling funds. Following his release from prison on...

Shnitzer re-elected. (Moshe Shnitzer, president of Israel Diamond Exchange) (Diamonds and Gems)
January 4, 1991... Moshe Snitzer has once again been elected president of the Israel Diamond Exchange. Schitzer, who has held the position for the last 25 years, defeated challenger Charlie Hollander by a margin of 66 percent to 44 percent. After learning of...

Diamond revenues up only 1.6%. (Israel) (Diamonds and Gems)
January 4, 1991... Revenue from the export of diamonds rose by only 1.6 percent in 1990. Figures released by the Ministry of Trade and Commerce show that in 1990, $2.782 billion worth of polished diamonds were sold compared to $2.738 in 1989. This small...

Gottex's exports up 35%. (Gottex Models Ltd.) (Fashion)
January 4, 1991... The exports of swimsuit and beach-wear manufacturer Gottex Models Ltd., grew by 35 percent in 1990 and totaled $33.7 million, compared to $25 million in 1989. Most of the exports, about $15 million, went to the U.S. and $10 million to the...

1991 budget for stock exchange. (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange) (Finance)
January 4, 1991... The Board of Directors of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) is currently appropriating funds for its 1991 budget. The Board of Directors rejected a request by the public and foreign relations department for NIS 640,000, and instead granted...

Possible OTC in Israel. (over-the-counter market) (Finance)
January 4, 1991... Minister of Finance Yitzhak Moda'i has approved the establishment of an over-the-counter (OTC) stock exchange based on the American OTC model, as suggested by the Association of High-Tech Industries at their annual conference last week. An OTC...

Large firms raising capital. (Clal Industries, Africa-Israel Investments, Israel Discount Bank Ltd.) (Finance)
January 4, 1991... Clal Indusries, Africa-Israel Investments and Israel Discount Bank (IDB) are looking to raise NIS 140 million in capital on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). Africa-Israel plans to issue NIS 60 million in bonds, though final yield rates have...

Food packaging for B.S.N. (Food, Beverages and Tobacco)
January 4, 1991... A $1 million marketing agreement has been signed between French marketer of food products B.S.N. and M.C.P. Performance Plastics, the Kibbutz Hamaapil manufacturer of patented packaging for ready-to-eat food product which eliminates the need...

Tnuva Export sold. (Tnuva Export Agricultural Coop to Eliezer Fishman-led group) (Food, Beverages and Tobacco)
January 4, 1991... A group of investors headed by Eliezer Fisherman has bought the Tnuva Export Agricultural Coop. Soc. Ltd. (under receivership) for $13.8 million. The purchase terms are now in the process of being approved by the registrar of cooperative...

$11.4 million in eggs. (Cham builds new frozen eggs and powder factory) (Food, Beverages and Tobacco)
January 4, 1991... Cham, a producer of frozen eggs and egg powder for industrial use, has recently invested $8 million in its production facility and plans to invest another $3.4 million in the factory. The new investment will allow Cham to enter the world...

Dead Sea switches insurance. (Dead Sea Works Ltd.) (Insurance)
January 4, 1991... Israel Phoenix Insurance will insure the factories of Dead Sea Works, effective January 1, 1991; the premium is estimated at $1 million annually. The dead Sea Works factories, worth approximately $1 billion, had previously been insured through...

Lloyd's reimburses Mizrahi. (Lloyd's of London, United Mizrahi Bank Ltd.) (Insurance)
January 4, 1991... The British insurance company Lloyd's will reimburse United Mizrahi Bank NIS 5.5 million for losses incurred by the bank related to the Koffitz affair, Misrahi lost $9 million in 1988 due to the scandal. The bank claimed that management at...

Refreshing news for bad breath. (Dr. Mel Rosenberg invents devices for diagnosis and treatment of halitosis) (Health)
January 4, 1991... Bad breath, or halitosis, causes embarrassment to millions of people a day. North Americans alone spend over $500 million a year on mouthwash products. Nowthere appears to be hope for victims of halitosis. Dr. Mel Rosenberg, head of the...

Unemployment may reach 16%. (Israel) (Labor)
January 4, 1991... According to a study by the Bank of Israel, unemployment could reach 16 percent in five years after absorbing 1.1 million immigrants. This would be the highest rate in the history of the state. These findings were announced by Dr. Leora...

Post layoffs denied. (Jerusalem Post, newspaper) (Paper and Publishing)
January 4, 1991... A Tel Aviv labor court judge has ruled that the layoff of workers from the Jerusalem Post in early December violated the October agreement between the paper and its union. In response to the decision, President and Publisher of the Jerusalem...

Clal into Swiss water purifiers. (Clal Marketing and Commerce Ltd. to market Filopur's products) (Plastics and Rubber)
January 4, 1991... Clal Marketing & Commerce Ltt. of the Clal group has begun marketing water purifiers, manufactured by the Swiss firm Filopur. Clal estimates that only 10 percent of the homes in Israel are presently fitted with any water purifier, and due to...

Public Works project. (Israel. Office of Public Works., road paving contract bids) (Ports, Roads and Rail)
January 4, 1991... The Public Works Department (PWD) is inviting Israeli contractors to present their credentials for the paving of the Gila Road in the Etzion region. The $30 million project includes the excavation of two 1,200 meter tunnels and the building of...

Eilat-Airport land worth more. (valuation of land to be used for planned international airport, Elath, Israel) (Ports, Roads and Rail)
January 4, 1991... The Inter-office Committee, which is handling preparation of a tender offer for the building of a new international airport in Eilat, has received an apparaisal of the land that will be vacated when the present airport is abandoned; the land is...

Apartment prices rise 8% above index. (Israel) (Real Estate)
January 4, 1991... Apartment prices in Israel rose by 27.4 percent in 1990, 8 percent above the price index. The price increase was centered in the months of January to July, when prices were expected to skyrocket because of the Soviet immigation. In August,...

CNN news on Channel 2. (Cable News Network's newscasts, Israel Television's Channel 2) (Sports and Entertainment)
January 4, 1991... Cable Network News (CNN) newscasts is being transmitted by Channel 2 of the Israeli television. The CNN newscasts will be aired every day at the conclusion of their normal service at 23:00 and continue for approximately an hour. The agreement...

Reduced purchase tax. (Israel) (Taxes and Customs Duties)
January 4, 1991... The purchase tax on imported textiles, shoes and furniture has been lowered effective January 1, 1991, as part of free-trade agreements with the U.S. and the European Community. The purchase tax will be lowered as follows: on textiles -- from...

New promenade for Tel Aviv. (Atarim Project Development to build beach pavilion, promenade at Givat Aliyah beach, Tel Aviv, Israel) (Tourism)
January 4, 1991... Atarim Project Development will invest NIS 5.5 million in the construction of a promenade, paving of parking lots and establishment of a beach pavilion -- all on the Givat Aliyah beach in Tel Aviv. In the first stage of construction, Atidim...

Patt requests Emergency Fund for tourism sector. (Israel. Minister of Tourism Gideon Patt) (Tourism)
January 4, 1991... Tourism Minister Gideon Patt has requested NIS 75 million from the Finance Ministry to establish an Emergency Fund for the tourism sector. The fund will provide loans to help related companies ride out the current drop in tourists visiting the...

French Club goes orthodox. (Orthodox Jew Zelman Leib Weldman purchases French Askelon Club, recreation village, Israel) (Tourism)
January 4, 1991... Zelman Leib Weldman, an Orthodox Jew from New York, has purchased the French Ashkelon Club from previous owner Harry Lony for $4 million. The recreation village has recently encountered financial difficulties, partly due to the drop in tourists...

Club Med in Caesaria. (Club Mediterranee S.A., Dan Caesaria Hotel, Caesaria, Israel) (Tourism)
January 4, 1991... Club Med is exploring the possibility of purchasing the Dan Caesaria Hotel, or entering into a partnership with the Dan Hotels chain. Club Med President Gilbert Treganault will soon arrive in Israel to meet with the management of Dan Hotels,...

Air transport costs rise. (Agrexco to export by ship) (Transport)
January 4, 1991... Increased air transport prices have forced Agrexco (Agricultural Export Company) to transport a significant portion of its exports by ship. Agrexco is jointly owned by the Ministries of Finance and Industry & Trade (50 percent), Tnuva (25...

EFTA commercial agreement. (European Free Trade Association) (Trade)
January 4, 1991... The Ministry of Industry & Trade has appointed a committee to prepare for talks in Geneva with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), intended to pave the way for signing of a commercial free trade agreement (FTA). EFTA countries include...

Transportation subsidies roll on. (Israel) (Transport)
January 4, 1991... The Israeli government has spent NIS 8 billion in the last decade on public transportation subsidies, according to Ram Belinkov of the Finance Ministry's Budget Committee. At a meeting of the Israeli Organization for Transportation Research,...

IEC extends Mekorot deadline. (Israel Electric Corporation Ltd., Mekorot Industries debt) (Utilities)
January 4, 1991... The Israel Electric Corp. Ltd. (IEC) has extended the deadline of Mekorot Industries, Israel's water company, to pay back a NIS 50 million debt. Till then, the IEC will not sever power to sites in addition to the eight water-pumping sites...

Albania offers water. (Utilities)
January 4, 1991... The Government of Albania has indirectly offered to sell Israel water and is even willing to receive an Israeli delegation to inspect the source and the quality of the water in question. Albania currently ships 20,000 cubic meters of water to...

Computerized communication triples. (Communications)
January 4, 1991... The use of Bezeq's Isranet computerized communication system has increased threefold in the past year in both domestic and international communication. The main causes for this growth are the increase in use of databases, bank applications and...

Best Seller. (sales and marketing software from Algorithma) (Computers)
January 4, 1991... TelAviv software house Algorithma has introduced a sales and marketing software package based on the Magic applications generator. The program is intended for sales intensive companies using direct mail or telemarketing methods. The program...

Paperless orders. (computer program developed by Kod Kod Technologies to collect product orders) (Computers)
January 4, 1991... Kod Kod Technologies has developed a new program that will collect orders for dealers in marketing chains and stores. The system runs on a desktop PC, which collects the orders. The salesperson then transfers the information from the desktop...

Software catalog. (Computers)
January 4, 1991... The Export Institute and the Israel Association of Software Houses have collaborated in publishing an English catalog of Israeli software products. The catalog to be finally released this month, after many months of delay, includes a...

Building bottleneck expected. (Construction)
January 4, 1991... A Finance Ministry study has determined that a bottleneck in the construction industry may occur around March, 1991, when recent building starts will reach an advanced stage. The report also claims that if 1 million immigrants arrive in the...

Heavy equipment imports. (Construction)
January 4, 1991... The registrar of engineering equipment for the Public Works Department (PWD) is now allowing the unlimited import of used heavy equipment. This decision was based on the rising demand for machinery such as excavators, bulldozers and...

Automated toothpaste dispenser. (Consumer)
January 4, 1991... Arie Kristal has developed a device that shortens the process of applying toothpaste onto a toothbrush. The toothbrush is inserted into a clamp, which creates pressure, thereby releasing the desired amount of toothpaste from a specially...

Plutzer in the plotz. (David Plutzer) (Criminal)
January 4, 1991... Building contractor David Plutzer of Savyon has been accused of collecting value-added tax (VAT) payments without turning them over to the tax authorities, of not reporting revenues and of falsifying tax documents. A Beersheba district court...

Mercedes smugglers exposed. (Criminal)
January 4, 1991... A lengthy indictment against a ring of Mercedes car smugglers from Germany to Isral is currently being completed. In the Central Criminal Court in Tel Aviv, ringmember Shmuel Barak has been charged and in the near future eight additional...

The Arrow to fly. (the Israeli Air Force's Arrow missile) (Defense and Security)
January 4, 1991... The Israeli Air Force is planning to soon test-launch the Arrow missle for a second time. The Arrow is a ground to air anti-tactical missile, designed and developed by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) to intercept incoming ballistic missiles....

New oil well. (Energy and Fuels)
January 4, 1991... The National Oil Company will shortly commence negotiations with Stutz of the U.S. with respect to drilling for oil in the Dead Sea. Unsuccessful negotiations with Stutz have been conducted in the past.

Horizontal oil drillings. (Energy and Fuels)
January 4, 1991... Naptha Israel Petroleum is planning a series of advanced oil drills at the Heletz oil field in the coming year. The proposed drillings will be horizontal drilling method has recently small pockets of oil; the horizontal drilling method has...

Social/economic compact. (Finance)
January 4, 1991... Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir is weighing the possibility of creating a social/economic compact to find solutions for the country's economic problems and assist in creating new jobs. Dov Lautman, president of a group of business and bank...

Good Manufacturing Practice. (Food, Beverages and Tobacco)
January 4, 1991... The Food Supervision division of the Ministry of Health is recommending that all food manufacturers follow G.M.P. -- Good Manufacturing Practice. The division believes that the number of complaints against food services will decline if G.M.P....

Portable sulphide monitor. (Health)
January 4, 1991... Dr. Rosenberg has also developed, in collaboration with Dr. Jacob Gabbay of the Ministry of Health, a portable sulphide monitor, called a "halimeter", which estimates halitosis levels in the mouth. The test is painless and results are displayed...

Productivity up. (Labor)
January 4, 1991... A comparison of wholesale prices in Israel with those abroad shows a significant improvement in Israeli industry's ability to compete, as well as increased export profits, for the second half of 1990. "A wholesale price comparison between...

More Amcor refrigerators. (Metal and Electrical Industry)
January 4, 1991... The wave of immigrants flooding Israel has brought about an increased demand for locally-manufactured refrigerators and as a result, Amcor has doubled its refrigerator output in the last few months. Amcor now employes 600 workers in its Tel...

Popular vitamin coating. (Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics)
January 4, 1991... Avner Rotman, a professor of chemistry at the Weizman Institute, has developed a special coating for vitamins that enables them to be compressed into a wide variety of foods. The vitamins are then released gradually into the body, thereby...

Carmelit renovation. (Carmelit tunnel subway system in Haifa, Israel) (Ports, Roads and Rail)
January 4, 1991... A. Amit has signed a contract with the Haifa Municipality's Department of Economic Development to restore the Carmelit tunnel subway system. The company submitted the lowest bid on two tender offers, together worth NIS 6.5 million. A. Amit...

Bowling for sale. (Sports and Entertainment)
January 4, 1991... The owners of the bowling alley, operating on the ground floor of the Shalom Tower, are looking for a buyer. The current owners, the Surimar Company (51 percent), an American investor (28 percent) and a group of Israeli investors (21 percent)...

Tax adjustments. (Taxes and Customs Duties)
January 4, 1991... The value-added tax (VAT) was raised from 16 percent to 18 percent, effective January 1, 1991. A five percent immigration tax will now be imposed on personal income tax (a citizen paying NIS 1,000 in income tax will pay an additional NIS 50)....

Soviet investors. (Trade)
January 4, 1991... Despite the difficult economic situation in the Soviet Union, four Soviet investors, representing the Soviet firm Autocomp, met with the head of the Kiryat Malachi council, Yossi Vanunu, to discuss possible industrial investments in the region....

Emergency water council. (Utilities)
January 4, 1991... Minister of Agriculture Rafael Eitan has established an emergency council to deal with the water crisis. At the same time the Water Commission will hold a meeting on January 10 to approve new water regulations to limit municipal water usage....

Adiel Amorai: chairman/managing director, M.I. Holdings. (Personal Profile)
January 4, 1991... M.I. Holdings was established in 1988 to advise the government on bank privatization and to handle the actual sale of the banks. Adiel Amorai, 56, was appointed to handle this complex task. His experience as a Labor Party MK for 15 years...