ICEN articles from June 1990

ICEN archives from June 1990

Treasury's economic plan.
June 6, 1990... Treasury's Economic Plan Senior Treasury officials are said to be working on a new economic plan, which they expect to be implemented soon. Highlights of the program include: * the immediate devaluation of the shekel by up to 8%; * a...

Polgat losses. (Polgat Industries textile group)
June 6, 1990... Polgat Losses The Polgat Industries textile group had a NIS 1.9-million loss during the first quarter of 1990, compared with a loss of NIS 1 million in the first half of 1989 and a loss of NIS 3.8 million for all of 1989. The company's...

Privatization of citrus marketing board. (Agriculture)
June 6, 1990... Privatization of Citrus Marketing Board According to informed sources, the privatization of the Citrus Marketing Board is likely. The Giza economic consulting firm, which among other projects, had drawn up a plan for the sale of...

Urban funding for agricultural water. (This Week)
June 6, 1990... Urban Funding for Agricultural Water Representatives of two French companies, O.T.V. and De Gremond, are now in the country to examine the possibility of developing sewage-water purification systems. According to David Yogev, the director of...

Virus-free potatoes. (Agriculture)
June 6, 1990... Virus-Free Potatoes A plant-cell manipulation procedure that involves fusing the plant cells can simplify the production of hybrid seeds and may eventually lead to virus-free potatoes. This cell manipulation, termed "donor-recipient...

Photogalvanic dental meter. (to measure galvanic electricity in oral cavity) (This Week)
June 6, 1990... Photogalvanic Dental Meter A compact digital instrument has been developed for the specific purpose of measuring galvanic electricity in the oral cavity. Manufactured by Meitar, the meter is now being introduced to the dental profession here...

Plant interferon. (Agriculture)
June 6, 1990... Plant Interferon Researchers at the Hebrew University have isolated a potent anti-viral factor (AVF) from plants and demonstrated that it is very similar to human beta-interferon. This bears out earlier experiments, in which interferon was...

Improved superconductor composites. (This Week)
June 6, 1990... Improved Superconductor Composites Professor Shimon Reich of the Weizmann Institute, recently appointed to the Reneker Professorial Chair of Industrial Chemistry, has devised a new method to produce ceramic superconducting composites, namely...

No money for new plane. (Shahal fighter) (Aircraft Industry)
June 6, 1990... No Money for New Plane Israel Aircraft Industries will halt the configurational development of its "Shahal" fighter if by the year's end it has not found at least one potential customer for the plane. Some $1 million has been invested in the...

Foreign prefabs. (This Week)
June 6, 1990... Foreign Prefabs The Ministry of Housing and Construction has officially approached manufacturers of pre-fabricated housing in Europe and the U.S. with requests for technical information and sales data. The construction companies received...

Air agreement with Bulgaria. (aviation treaty) (Aviation)
June 6, 1990... Air Agreement with Bulgaria Bulgaria and Israel have initialed an aviation treaty that allows the two national airlines, El Al and Balkan Air to begin negotiations on flights between the two counties. East Germany remains the only country in...

Monetary tenders. (Bank of Israel) (Banking)
June 6, 1990... Monetary Tenders The Bank of Israel has announced that during June, there will be four monetary tenders offered to the commercial banks. The sums auctioned directly to the public (see ICEN vol. 176, no. 5.1) each Monday, starting June 4, will...

NIS 3.1 million parting package. (Banking)
June 6, 1990... NIS 3.1 Million Parting Package Despite Bank Leumi's intentions to bring suit against former senior officials to reduce their exorbitant pensions (see ICEN vol. 177 no. 5.5), David Novik, the bank's deputy managing director, who is retiring,...

Mortgages down further. (Banking)
June 6, 1990... Mortgages Down Further Competition between the mortgage banks is getting stiffer from day to day as each bank attempts to offer its clients "the lowest interest rate available." Tefahot Israel Mortgage Bank announced for the second time in...

JOEL wins appeal. (JOEL Oil Exploration) (Litigation )
June 6, 1990... JOEL Wins Appeal The President of the Tel Aviv District Court, Judge Eliyahu Winograd, has ruled in favor of JOEL Oil Exploration's appeal against the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and the Securities Authority concerning the issue of shares with...

Mortgage banks non-housing loans. (Banking)
June 6, 1990... Mortgage Banks Non-Housing Loans The Bank of Israel's Supervisor of Banks has notified the mortgage banks that in the wake of a change in the bank-licensing law, they can extend long-term credit to private individuals for purposes other than...

Orbot charged with patent violation. (Orbot Systems of Israel) (Litigation)
June 6, 1990... Orbot Charged With Patent Violation KLA Instruments of California has accused Orbot Systems of Israel with patent law violation and has brought suit against the firm in San Jose District Court, where Orbot was charged with copying KLA's...

Successful monetary tender. (Bank of Israel) (Banking)
June 6, 1990... Successful Monetary Tender The first Bank of Israel direct monetary tender to the public was held on Monday. A total of NIS 40 million was offered through the commercial banks. NIS 30.7 million was purchased by participants at an annual...

Urdan losses in U.S. (Urdan Industries) (Metal and Electrical Industry)
June 6, 1990... Urdan Losses in U.S. Clal owned metals-products manufacturer Urdan Industries has reported to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that it has incurred losses of several million dollars as a result of its activities in the U.S. Urdan has a 45%...

Mortgage backed by guarantors. (Bank Otsar Hahayal) (Banking)
June 6, 1990... Mortgage Backed by Guarantors The Bank Hapoalim subsidiary Bank Otsar Hahayal is offering mortgages of up to NIS 35,000 for the purchase of homes or other assets and is only requiring that guarantors secure the loan. Mortgage recipients would...

Interest rates lowered. (Banking)
June 6, 1990... Interest Rates Lowered The average interest rate in the Bank of Israel's May 31 monetary tender was 13.4%, compared with 13.7% the previous week and 14.2% the week before that. The downward trend is attributed to excess liquidity at the...

Shahar's sudden resignation. (Arye Shahar; Dead Sea Works) (Chemicals)
June 6, 1990... Shahar's Sudden Resignation Arye Shahar, managing director of the Dead Sea Works, surprised a meeting of the company's board of directors last week by announcing his resignation. Shahar explained that he was stepping down because of personal...

John Bryce utilizing immigrant skills. (Russian immigrants) (Computers)
June 6, 1990... John Bryce Utilizing Immigrant Skills According to the managing director of John Bryce, Marcus Hallside, judging from his firm's successful experience, Russian immigrants are capable of contributing much to the development and growth of the...

Low first-quarter Clal earnings. (Clal Industries) (Conglomerates)
June 6, 1990... Low First-Quarter Clal Earnings In the first quarter of 1990, Clal Industries had only marginal earnings, due mainly to capital losses of approximately $7 million from the sale of its Automotive Equipment and Keter Publishing House...

No bond interest from Koor. (Koor Industries) (Conglomerates)
June 6, 1990... No Bond Interest from Koor Koor Industries has notified the Securities Authority and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that it will have to postpone interest payments on its series-six bonds. Koor discontinued interest payments on other series of bonds...

Building starts up. (Construction)
June 6, 1990... Building Starts Up The first quarter of 1990 has seen a significant increase in the number of apartment starts. During January through March, the construction of 8,490 apartments was begun, compared with 5,420 during the corresponding period...

Agra checking housing construction. (Construction)
June 6, 1990... Agra Checking Housing Construction The Agra construction giant of Canada, which is involved in building the Hadera power plant, has been holding discussions with Israeli contractors, including Solel Boneh, regarding possible joint activity in...

Lego-type construction. (house construction; polystyrene building materials) (Construction)
June 6, 1990... Lego-Type Construction Engineer Zvi Lieger's 1979 patent for home-construction elements made of polystyrene, which makes it possible to build the concrete shell for a building up to four stories high cheaply, quickly and without hired help, is...

Rafael debt. (Israeli Ministry of Defense) (Defense & Security)
June 6, 1990... Rafael Debt The Defense Ministry's Rafael arms development authority, owes millions of dollars to the government-controlled and publicly-traded Industrial Buildings firm. The debt stems from the construction in the early 80's of Rafael's...

Light scents. (light bulbs which also contain odor absorbers) (Metal and Electrical Industry)
June 6, 1990... Light Scents Ruth Shenan, writing in her column in Maariv's Asakim business supplement, reports on a new multi-purpose bathroom-lighting fixture. In addition to a light bulb, the device also holds two replaceable disks, one consisting of...

Oven looking for manufacturer. (ceramic toaster-oven) (Metal and Electrical Industry)
June 6, 1990... Oven Looking for Manufacturer A small ceramic toaster-oven developed and designed by David Neumark, a 35-year-old industrial designer from Jerusalem, was one of the two products awarded prizes at the design competition held under the auspices...

Aryt results. (Aryt Optronics Industries) (Optics)
June 6, 1990... Aryt Results Aryt Optronics Industries announced operating results for the first quarter of the year, with net sales amounted to $2.16 million and net income for the period totaled $75,000. At the end of 1989, the company completed the sale of...

Business reporters leave Al Hamishmar. (Paper and Publishing)
June 6, 1990... Business Reporters Leave Al Hamishmar Three economics correspondents at the Hebrew daily Al Hamishmar, which is affiliated with the Histadrut labor federation, are slated to leave the newspaper to take up positions elsewhere. Levi Morav, the...

New imaging processors. (National Semiconductor Israel) (Electronics)
June 6, 1990... New Imaging Processors National Semiconductor Israel has introduced three new 32-bit microprocessors for the growing imaging peripheral market. The processors were developed by the company's planning center in Herzliya and are produced by its...

Maxwell to consolidate. (Robert Maxwell) (Paper and Publishing)
June 6, 1990... Maxwell to Consolidate British entrepreneur Robert Maxwell is expected in Israel this week to finalize the acquisition of Keter Publishing House from Clal Industries. During his two-day visit, he will probably try to effect the consolidation...

Interpharm losses. (Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics)
June 6, 1990... Interpharm Losses Interpharm has ended the first quarter with a net loss of $400,000, compared with a $100,000 profit for the corresponding period last year, although sales turnover this year has increased to $4.7 million, up from $3.6 million...

Elisra components subsidiary. (Elisra Electronic Systems) (Electronics)
June 6, 1990... Elisra Components Subsidiary Tadiran's Elisra Electronic Systems firm, together with French industrialist Jean Ganouna, has established a subsidiary of its own, Elisra-Gan, to produce electronics components for the civilian market. Each of the...

Plastic high-tech hanky panky. (government grant for Keter Plastics) (Plastics & Rubber)
June 6, 1990... Plastic High-Tech Hanky Panky Keter Plastics will receive a NIS 5.4-million government grant for a new plant it is building in Yokneam in the wake of the ministerial committee for economic affairs' decision to consider the plant as having...

Gusher? (oil discovery) (Energy and Fuels)
June 6, 1990... Gusher? Oil was discovered early in experimental drilling begun late Saturday night, June 2, at the Hammer group's Yam-2 offshore oil site. When the valve at the bottom of the drilling site was opened, first gas and then oil, both of high...

Taglit securities issue for oil. (oil and gas exploration) (Energy and Fuels)
June 6, 1990... Taglit Securities Issue for Oil Taglit (Discovery), a limited partnership for oil exploration established by Thompson Oil (Israel), has received authorization from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange executive committee to raise $5 million for...

Makov resigns. (Amir Makov; Sonol Israel) (Energy and Fuels)
June 6, 1990... Makov Resigns Amir Makov, managing director of Sonol Israel, announced his resignation last week after eight and a half years in the position. Before joining Sonol he was managing director of Haifa Chemicals. During Makov's term of office...

Israeli industrialists to France. (Exhibitions, Conferences & Seminars)
June 6, 1990... Israeli Industrialists to France Israeli industrialists will participate in a special meeting to be held in France aimed at demonstrating Israeli achievements in industry and economics. The participants will also examine the possibilities of...

Choosing foreign sales reps. (Exhibitions, Conferences & Seminars)
June 6, 1990... Choosing Foreign Sales Reps The Israel Export Institute will be holding a seminar on choosing foreign sales representatives and distributors, which will take place on July 5 between 8:30 A.M. and 4 P.M. at the institute's offices in Industry...

Business plans for Israeli exporters. (Exhibitions, Conferences & Seminars)
June 6, 1990... Business Plans for Israeli Exporters A workshop for Israeli exporters on preparing business plans will take place on July 10 between 8:30 A.M. and 4 P.M. at the Israel Export Institute, located in Industry House. The significance of the...

Data-base management course. (Exhibitions, Conferences & Seminars)
June 6, 1990... Data-Base Management Course People and Computers is giving a short course on the basics of relational data bases and on the use of SQL, the language, to take place at Gan Oranim, located at the Tel Aviv Fair Grounds, during June 26 - 28. The...

Israeli business conference in Brussels. (Exhibitions, Conferences & Seminars)
June 6, 1990... Israeli Business Conference in Brussels A select group of Israeli businessmen will take part in a four- day conference, beginning June 18, on the influences shaping the unified Europe of 1992. The conference, which will take place at the...

Plastic corrosion protection. (Plastics & Rubber)
June 6, 1990... Plastic Corrosion Protection Effective protection against corrosion is available for metal objects and especially machine parts, while they are being stored. Plastic packaging materials, manufactured by Plastopil, incorporate materials that...

Apartments up 4.2% in Feb.-April. (Real Estate)
June 6, 1990... Apartments Up 4.2% in Feb.-April Apartment prices have risen 4.2% in real terms during the February to April period, according to a Tefahot Israel Mortgage Bank survey. In some parts of the country, increases may have been higher. Calculations...

South Tel Aviv price rise. (Real Estate)
June 6, 1990... South Tel Aviv Price Rise Some 200 Russian immigrant families who have recently bought apartments in Tel Aviv's less expensive south side have caused prices in that area to skyrocket by 70% - 100%. In the areas of Kiryat Shalom, Neve Ofer,...

Bureaucratic conflict over Modiin. (Real Estate)
June 6, 1990... Bureaucratic Conflict Over Modi'in The Housing Ministry and the Israel Lands Administration are struggling behind the scenes for control over the Modi'in project, located southeast of Ben-Gurion airport in the Samarian foothills, just within...

Africa Israel flats in Ramat Gan. (Real Estate)
June 6, 1990... Africa Israel Flats in Ramat Gan Africa Israel Investments has already sold the first 13 apartments in the first building of its 55-unit Savionei Gan project in Ramat Gan, even though neither construction nor active sales efforts have begun....

Hamashbir difficulties. (Retail)
June 6, 1990... Hamashbir Difficulties The managing director of the financially-troubled Hamashbir Lezarchan, Major General (res.) Menahem Einan, has asked the chain's senior officials to forego 5% to 10% of their salaries during the next year, as a loan to...

Gan Ha'ir shopping center disappoints. (Retail)
June 6, 1990... Gan Ha'ir Shopping Center Disappoints Many store owners at Tel Aviv's prestigious Gan Ha'ir shopping mall have formed an action committee because of what they view as the center's commercial failure. In a letter to the mall's management, the...

Navy review in wake of terror attack. (Shipping and Shipbuilding)
June 6, 1990... Navy Review in Wake of Terror Attack According to a senior naval source, the principal lesson to be learned from last week's abortive terror attack, when a PLO craft succeeded in landing near a crowded beach in Ashkelon, is that the slow Dabur...

Uniform tariff rate for all cars. (Taxes and Customs Duties)
June 6, 1990... Uniform Tariff Rate for All Cars Transportation Minister Moshe Katsav has accepted the recommendations of a joint Treasury - Transportation Ministry committee that studied the question of taxes on automobiles. Prime Minister Shamir and acting...

The gradual tariff adjustments. (Taxes and Customs Duties)
June 6, 1990... The Gradual Tariff Adjustments Initially, all passenger cars not from the United States or the European Economic Community will be subjected to a 7% tariff (down from the present 14% rate; cars from the EEC are already tariff-exempt except for...

Carmel Carpets reduce prices. (Textiles)
June 6, 1990... Carmel Carpets Reduce Prices Carmel Carpets (Caesarea Glenoit Industries) is launching an unprecedented campaign to increase domestic sales, which are currently 20% below what its recovery plan calls for. The firm will open factory outlets in...

Capital for Argaman Industries. (Textiles)
June 6, 1990... Capital for Argaman Industries The owners of the Argaman Industries, Discount Investment, Brender-Moss and Ya'ir Rotlevi are considering providing an infusion of capital to improve the textile firm's liquidity in light of its NIS 15 million...

Lodzia Rotex expands. (Textiles)
June 6, 1990... Lodzia Rotex Expands Lodzia Rotex, which reportedly paid a little over $2 million to buy operating control of Argaman Industries, is a veteran at putting ailing textile firms back on their feet. Rotex already went through this experience when...

Kibbutzim planning motels. (Tourism)
June 6, 1990... Kibbutzim Planning Motels A number of kibbutzim are planning to build motels on their premises, in order to encourage low-budget tourism, both domestic and foreign. Existing tourist facilities will be used, or built when necessary. At present,...

Dead Sea tourism project. (Tourism)
June 6, 1990... Dead Sea Tourism Project Tourism facilities at the Dead Sea are expanding slowly but surely. One important project in the planning stage in the Ein Bokek area, to be called "Hordus" (Herod) - after the famous king who was a pleasure seeker and...

Pierre Cardin agents to Israel. (400 franchisees have arrived for tour) (Tourism)
June 6, 1990... Pierre Cardin Agents to Israel Four hundred Pierre Cardin franchisees have arrived in Israel for a deluxe incentive tour of the country. The participants, who all have large business in Europe, Singapore and Mexico, own the rights to market...

Dear Noah. (Israel-Soviet cooperation) (Trade)
June 6, 1990... Dear Noah New York City Councilman Noach Dear has been active in promoting Israel-Soviet business cooperation, particularly in the field of residential construction, where Israel contractors have valuable experience. On his frequent trade...

Thailand threatens sanctions. (against Israel) (Trade)
June 6, 1990... Thailand Threatens Sanctions Thailand's commercial attache claims that Israel is discriminating against imports from his country and is threatening sanctions. Israel has more extensive trade ties with Thailand then with other countries in the...

Mekorot employees threaten strike. (Mekorot Water Co.) (Utilities)
June 6, 1990... Mekorot Employees Threaten Strike The Mekorot Water Company's workers' association has demanded that Water Commissioner Zemach Yishai be replaced because of his "lack of planning and vision." The chairman of the association, Meir Elezra, warns...

Bezeq chooses underwriters. (Utilities)
June 6, 1990... Bezeq Chooses Underwriters The Government Corporations Authority has notified both groups of underwriters contending for the upcoming share issue of Bezeq Israel Telecommunications, the country's telephone company, that it has chosen the Leumi...

David Frank: managing director, Transglobal Travel Ltd. (Personal Profile)
June 6, 1990... David Frank Managing Director, Transglobal Travel Ltd. Commercial Niche Transglobal is, by design, a medium-sized company by Israeli standards, specializing in the profitable niche market of group tourism from the U.S. Transglobal is...

Standard institute goes European. (Israel Standards Institute) (Exports)
June 6, 1990... Standard Institute Goes European The Israel Standards Institute is negotiating with the EEC to be allowed to grant the European stamp of approval to Israeli products that have undergone testing. This would open wider markets and shorten export...

Ouman and Macy's. (Macy's orders lambs-wool sweaters) (Fashion)
June 6, 1990... Ouman and Macy's Ouman, knitwear manufacturers and a member firm of the Polgat Group, reports receiving a $500,000 order from Macy's. The Israel manufacturer will supply 30,000 lambs-wool sweaters to the American department store chain.

Bank shares recommended. (Israel Discount Bank's Ilanot mutual fund) (Finance)
June 6, 1990... Bank Shares Recommended Economists at Israel Discount Bank's Ilanot mutual fund, which maintains overseas assets, claim that with anticipations of a devaluation of the shekel, investment in government-insured ("arrangement") bank shares is...

Bruno: time for rethinking priorities. (Michael Bruno, governor of Bank of Israel) (Finance)
June 6, 1990... Bruno: Time for Rethinking Priorities Speaking at a press conference held last week on the occasion of the publication of the Bank of Israel's annual report, Michael Bruno, the governor of the central bank, declared that Israel is faced with...

Tardy financial reports punished. (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange) (Finance)
June 6, 1990... Tardy Financial Reports Punished The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has suspended regular trading in the securities of companies that have not yet submitted their 1989 financial statements. The companies involved are: Koor Industries, The Israel...

Foreign reserves down. (Finance)
June 6, 1990... Foreign Reserves Down A large drop in Israel's foreign reserves was registered last week. Unofficial figures record a drop of some $200 million - $250 million last month following the government's redemption of foreign debts worth $400...

Foreign currency sales down. (Finance)
June 6, 1990... Foreign Currency Sales Down The volume of foreign currency sold to the Bank of Israel by the business sector fell during May and amounted to $150 million; in April the figure was double. At the beginning of May, these sales were still high,...

Industrial fund for immigrants. (Axiom I.C.F. Capital's industrial fund) (Finance)
June 6, 1990... Industrial Fund for Immigrants Businessman Lester Crown is among the principal investors in Axiom I.C.F. Capital's industrial fund for founding high-growth companies to employ new immigrants. Crown is a major shareholder in General Dynamics...

Sharp rise in Israeli shares in U.S. (Finance)
June 6, 1990... Sharp Rise in Israeli Shares in U.S. A survey conducted by economists at Clal Investment, widely considered among the most reliable overseas investment consulting firms in Israel, indicates a sharp rise over the last month in the stock prices...

Israeli-European venture capital. (Finance)
June 6, 1990... Israeli - European Venture Capital Two Israeli venture capitalists have joined with a Belgium-based partner to establish a management group located in Tel Aviv and Brussels aimed at helping Israeli companies establish operations in Europe....

Treasury officials deny devaluation demand. (Finance)
June 6, 1990... Treasury Officials Deny Devaluation Demand Senior Finance Ministry officials deny they called for a minimum 5% devaluation of the shekel, explaining they merely expressed the view that convergence of Israeli currency toward the bench- mark...

Supersol to import pasta. (Food, Beverage and Tobacco)
June 6, 1990... Supersol to Import Pasta The Supersol supermarket chain plans to import and market U.S.-made pasta products that are not similar to those produced in Israel. According to Supersol officials, the company is not taking this step to compete with...

Adjustable furniture. (Furniture & Timber)
June 6, 1990... Adjustable Furniture Shai Barkan and Hanan De Lange were co-winners in a design competition held under the auspices of the Israel Museum (see parg. 16.3) for their adjustable furniture set, which can be changed at will. The set is based on...

Sophisticated system for paraplegics. (Health)
June 6, 1990... Sophisticated System for Paraplegics A new clinic for the rehabilitation of paraplegics, the first of its kind in Israel, is about to open at the Herzliya Medical Center. The treatment is based on fitting the individual with a Reciprocation...

Novel dental plaque treatment. (Health)
June 6, 1990... Novel Dental Plaque Treatment A new formulation, developed by a Hebrew University research team headed by Prof. Michael Friedman, can provide all-day protection against the formation of dental plaque and other infections of the oral cavity....

Sharp rise in Clal Insurance profits. (Insurance)
June 6, 1990... Sharp Rise in Clal Insurance Profits Clal Insurance had earnings of NIS 4.1 million in the first quarter of 1990, compared with NIS 6.8 million in all of 1989, an increase of 141% on an annual basis. (There was no first-quarter report in 1989)....

Senior officers to Koor. (industrial management training program) (Labor)
June 6, 1990... Senior Officers to Koor Eight retired senior army officers have begun a special industrial management training program in a project financed by the Labor Ministry and run jointly by Koor Industries, the Zevet employment agency and the IDF...