At the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) annual press conference, TASE CEO Esther Levanon would invest heavily in development in 2010. She said, "We intend to develop new sector indices, starting with a biomed index. There are almost 40 technology companies with pretty good market caps, and this is the way to begin to give better exposure to this market."
Levanon added that the companies included in the biomed index would have a large public float.
The TASE also plans to create an index of energy companies.
Commenting on the year that was, Levanon noted that the Tel Aviv 25 Index rose 73% in 2009, outperforming even emerging market indices. "From our current position, it appears that it isn't possible to rise like this again, although we could be wrong."
Levanon said, "One of the very surprising things this year was the increase in bond issues. If there was something we didn’t expect, it was this growth. It was actually the banks that began it, and I consider this ironic since the banks weren’t always enthusiastic about the bond market. After the banks came the big companies, and after them, the other companies. We're now almost back to the days of old, a lot of offerings, and not necessarily all with ratings."
TASE SVP Trading & Clearing Department Rina Shafir said, "The TASE launched options of four shares: Israel Chemicals Ltd. (TASE: ICL), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA), Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI), and Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI). There was a consensus that everyone wanted this market, but one market maker stopped operating as required."
Shafir added, "We made a round of traders in the sector. We're optimistic that the market will succeed. We intend to increase the number of market makers. We want to drive the market with the four current options, and then we'll decide whether to launch more. If it succeeds, we'll expand the number of options. In order to hear what's needed, we looked at what is happening in the world, and we formulated a new model for market making, which will not only quote, but also bring deals."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 28, 2009
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