The new indexes, to be launched during the first quarter of 2010, will focus on biomed, energy and communications companies, and will position TASE as a centre for hi-tech companies.

TASE CEO, Ester Levanon, sets realistic goals: "We probably are not going to be another Nasdaq, attracting large companies like Nokia to list on our market, but we believe we can offer a good infrastructure for smaller hi-tech companies to raise easy money and be an alternative market to the more expensive market in the US." Out of the 605 companies currently listed on the TASE, 102 are currently hi-tech and 38 are biomed.

The decision to develop this stock exchange was impacted by the rise of the index in 2009. Levanon said “the Tel Aviv 25 Index rose 73 percent in 2009, outperforming emerging-market indices around the world”. So the launch of those indexes is a bet, as the crisis had no real consequences on TASE in 2009.

Source: The Jerusalem Post