Category: Finance

Development funders play an important role in advancing inclusive finance: with around 3,000 active projects and total commitments of more than USD 45 billion, they influence the dynamics of financial systems and help transform the way these systems work to include and serve people living in poverty. Because financial systems are constantly evolving, however, funders […]

The Israel Tax Authority (ITA) has issued instructions for the non-taxation of SAFEs (Simple Agreement For Future Equity). A SAFE has become a popular way of financing hi-tech start-ups in recent years, so non-taxation is nice. The instructions weren’t passed by the Knesset, but were issued in a letter of May 16, 2023 from the […]

Israeli investment fund NewVest on May 8 raised $220 million in funds for its new Private Debt 50 index fund. Prominent Israeli investors in the fund include Bank Hapoalim and Bar-Ilan University. Other investors, founders and managers from the global private fund management industry such as Yuval Cohen, founder and managing partner of Fortissimo Fund; […]

Turkey’s lira tumbled on Wednesday to a fresh record low against the dollar as President Tayyip Erdogan prepared to decide the shape of his new cabinet and the direction of economic policy after an election triumph. Former economy chief Mehmet Simsek, who is highly regarded by financial markets for his orthodox policy credentials, is almost […]

A number of prominent Israeli investors suffered a loss of tens of millions of shekels due to their failed investment about a year ago in Bank Leumi’s shares. In June 2022, the bank raised NIS 2.75 billion in a private offering for some of its shares. The most prominent private investor was Aaron Frankel, who […]

Israel’s competition watchdog sought more data on Sunday from the country’s banks relating to an investigation, saying they were enjoying huge profits from higher interest rates on loans but weren’t adequately sharing the benefits with customers. The investigation, which began in 2022, wasn’t made public prior to Sunday. In a bid to rein in inflation, […]

The Israel Innovation Authority has published a Position Paper (“Concern About Disintegration of Israeli Hi-Tech Due To World Developments And Possible Directions of Action, of April 30, 2023) commenting on challenges to the Israeli hi-tech sector. These range from inflation to the Ukraine war to….uncertainty in the Israeli judicial system. The position paper is couched […]

The buzz around artificial intelligence (AI) has given rise to a lively international public discourse and reminded us all that the future of humanity is in the hand of technology and tech developers. It also brought back a little spring spirit into the sails of tech firms traded on Wall Street.  The five US tech […]

The Iraqi Interior Ministry announced on Sunday a ban on the use of the US dollar in personal and commercial transactions. The move, reported locally, is intended to bolster the Iraqi dinar, the country’s native currency. This action aligns with an emerging trend across various Middle Eastern countries seeking to diminish their dollar dependency. For […]

Lebanon is likely to be placed on a “gray list” of countries under special scrutiny over unsatisfactory practices to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Being added to the list would be another major blow to a country in a financial tailspin since 2019 and struggling to […]