The TASE Board of Directors includes 16 members: Five external directors, one director who represents the Bank of Israel and who is appointed by the Governor of the Central Bank, another acting for the Ministry of Finance, appointed by the Finance Minister; seven representatives of TASE members, the Chairman of the Board and a Chief Executive Officer who must qualify as external directors.
is almost negligible. Legally, the Exchange is regulated by the Securities Law (1968) and falls under the direct supervision of the Israel Securities Authority (ISA). It is Israel’s only stock exchange—the only place an investor can buy and sell Israeli shares. The NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange and
put an end to an 8-year run of current account surplus…we think Israeli asset prices will have a volatile ride in 2012, due to the size of the external shock Israel may be subject to, and to the risk of regional political disturbance, which is already being felt in Israeli asset prices,” says Rosenberg.
The economy has not suffered a year of negative growth since 2002 a host of other overseas markets trade in some of the leading Israeli companies, such as Check Point, Software and Amdocs. Other companies, such as Teva Pharmaceuticals, can be bought and sold in Tel Aviv and in New York. As good as the “Israel story” has been for investors, 2012 is shaping up as a potentially difficult year for investors around the world, including those playing the TASE. Israel—a very open economy—“is likely to suffer an external shock which could hit GDP growth and
There are a number of ways in which these pressures can be felt. The results of the Arab Spring, for example, are still uncertain, but will have some effect on how the region is seen and what Israel’s role will be. The protests by the Israeli public in the summer of 2011 against the high cost of living can also have an effect by forcing companies to lower prices and reduce profits. The withdrawal of American troops from Iraq will have an effect on Israel’s defense establishment which in turn can rebound on the rest of
the economy. Since much of this activity is carried on through TASE, it is likely that its role will be more vulnerable, but also more important. In the past few years, according to Rosenberg, the TASE has acted very well in controlling economic activity as it applies to them. The question now is how to keep an even keel in an ocean of uncertainty. As Esther Levanon, Chairperson of TASE observes: “The Stock Exchange doesn’t guide the economy; it reflects it.” A
The TASE is owned by its members, which comprise the Bank of Israel (Israel’s central bank), 15 banks and 13 investment houses, including UBS, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Citibank and Merrill Lynch International. The banks are supervised by the Bank of Israel and the investment houses by the TASE.
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