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China is increasingly becoming key for Israel’s high-tech industry


Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) shake hands ahead of their talks at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on March 21, 2017 in Beijing, China.

Etienne Oliveau | Pool | Getty Images

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) shake hands ahead of their talks at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on March 21, 2017 in Beijing, China.

China’s investors and markets are becoming increasingly important to Israel’s economy, and in particular to its booming high-tech industry.

The first IPO (initial public offering) of an Israeli high-tech company on a Chinese stock exchange, Hong Kong, is expected within the year and Chinese investments in Israeli high-tech venture capital approached $1 billion in 2016, industry experts say.

“The Chinese stock exchange market will become another very viable option for Israeli companies looking for public funding,” if the first IPO goes off successfully, Eli Tidhar of Deloitte Israel, told CNBC.

Tidhar heads what Deloitte calls its “Israel-China corridor”. Israel has laid out the welcoming mat to Chinese companies and investors who may face more troublesome regulations and scrutiny elsewhere.

Hardly a day goes by without another Israel-China initiative being announced, whether it’s a new Israeli tech incubator in China, new investments, joint ventures, trade conferences or delegations. In May this year, another audit firm PwC led a delegation of Israeli companies to Hong Kong to explore the possibilities of listing on the stock exchange.

Deloitte’s Tidhar says that a sea change is taking place among Israeli companies looking for funding. Israeli high-tech VC (venture capital) companies raised $500 million from Chinese investors in 2014 and $700 million in 2015 and the amount keeps growing, according to Tidhar.

“In the past, Israel used to look mostly at the U.S. and Europe as our source for investment, especially in high tech,” he said. But now, “It becomes less and less awkward that a company that would like to raise money would pursue this investment from China.”

This view is echoed Dorian Barak, who heads the Israeli arm of Kuang Chi, one of the few Chinese conglomerates that has so far actually set up a permanent local representation. Israel’s venture capital landscape and its exits were until now largely a matter of Western money, Barak said. But that’s about to change.

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