Tel Aviv Stock Exchange CEO blames judicial overhaul for poor performance
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange CEO blames judicial overhaul for poor performance
"The Israeli government must take responsibility and pay attention to the warnings from international bodies," said Ittai Ben-Zeev. "These warnings have been piling up and indicate significant risks that could damage Israel's economic strength"
The CEO of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Ittai Ben-Zeev, is intensifying his criticism of the government's judicial overhaul, blaming it for the less than impressive performance of the local stock exchange.
"The underperformance of the local capital market since the beginning of the year, which arguably reflects better than any other indicator the expectations of investors and negative sentiment towards the local economy, suggests that Israel is moving further away from the global markets. These global markets are already on a recovery trend," said Ben-Zeev, speaking after the exchange released its results.
In the first seven months of 2023, the local stock market showed insignificant returns compared to the rest of the world. The TA 35 and TA 90 indices increased by 4% and 3% respectively. Meanwhile, the American S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices increased by 19% and 7% respectively, and the European Euro Stocks rose by 18%.
Ben Zaff added and noted that "the Israeli government must take responsibility and pay attention to the warnings from international bodies. These warnings have been piling up and indicate significant risks that could damage Israel's economic strength, ultimately resulting in harm to the assets and the quality of life of all Israeli citizens. The government must take action to restore trust, stability, and certainty to the local capital market."
This is the second reference by the CEO regarding the stock exchange and the economic consequences of the judicial overhaul. At the end of July, after the approval of the law to cancel the reasonableness cause, and the harsh Moody's report that was published afterwards, Ben-Zeev said that the report of the rating company is a wake-up call for the government.
The TASE's revenues in the second quarter amounted to NIS 93 million (approximately $25.2 million) compared to revenues of NIS 91 million in the corresponding quarter last year, a slight increase of 2%. The net profit was NIS 18.8 million ($5.1 million), compared to NIS 14.2 million in the corresponding quarter, an increase of 32%.
