"Globes" has named Israel Corp. (TASE: ILCO) chairman Idan Ofer as its Man of the Year for 2007, at today's closing ceremony of the Globes Israel Business Conference 2007. "Globes" editor-in-chief Haggai Golan presented the award.
2007 has been the year that Idan Ofer became one of the Israeli economy's most influential people. 2007 was an excellent year for Ofer, in particular if one looks at the wealth he accumulated during it, as the price of shares in Israel Corporation approximately doubled, and the stake of Idan and his father, Sammy Ofer, rose by $2 billion.
Following the announcement, Idan Ofer spoke to "Globes" in a rare interview. "Many things are said about us, but in the end, everything boiled down to legal hearings. Despite the bloodletting, everything we did received legal sanction - Zim, Oil Refineries, everything." He was responding to accusations that the Ofer family had built its wealth by acquiring government assets on the cheap.
In response to the claim that Israel Corp. acquired Zim cheaply from the government, Idan Ofer said, "I don’t understand. Yitzhak Tshuva, for example, bought the Plaza Hotel in New York for $680 million, for which he paid full price. You agree with me? After that, the man went and did this and that, converted the building, which has apartments, the hotel, built a gallery; I saw it myself, the man's a genius. He made a revolution there, created value. Now they say about the people who sold him the building 'Idiots - why did they sell it for $680 million? How could they not see it?'"
Ofer went on, "Zim is exactly the same story. Zim is also a story of management, as is the fact that we invested $1 billion in the ships, computers, and whatnot. We completely changed the company and that has an effect. We changed the system of agents, a system which had been sick for years; there was leakage of money that you simply can’t grasp. The money was escaping through holes in every direction. It's hard to explain, but that's why it wasn’t profitable."
As for the huge creation of value at Israel Corp., Ofer says, "I think that we take a long-term perspective, which helps us. I don’t look at the quarterly, semi-annual, or annual results, or if we're worth more than IDB or Africa-Israel. I don’t care about that. What I care about is building value, which is the foundation for the long term, and is adjusted to reality. The only thing that I took with me from my business administration classes was 'managing change'. That's it. I didn’t learn accounting, how to write a 'business case study', nothing."
As for Israel Chemicals, the most noteworthy creator of value at Israel Corp., Ofer said, "Should I say that we expected such power? I don’t know. It's possible to say that were surprised here and there, such as the rise in the price of phosphates, but we definitely expected the processes that we're seeing today in Israel Chemicals' business. I don’t think that Israel Chemicals is at the peak of its cycle. Do you think that two billion people will turn off their barbeques and stop eating? They won't stop eating, so we believe that Israel Chemicals will continue to flourish.
"Obviously, it helps us that the market is strong, but I don’t think that Israel Chemicals would have shown similar performances if it were still a government company. It's clear that the success is also a combination of market factors, but if you lack the right management, even a good business will struggle to make a profit."
Regarding Tower Semiconductor, Ofer said, "I think that Tower is improving, and I believe that it will continue to grow. However, the moral imperative also plays a role here. I can tell you that there was a lot of debate and desires by all kinds of managers to close down the company, and one of the reasons that we didn’t do it was the moral factor. Besides, I'm not in the habit of closing down something that I started. I don’t believe in going in in order to go out."
Ofer talked enthusiastically about Agassi's electric car venture, Project Better Place. "This is the greatest thing that going to happen in this world. 'Why' isn't the right question."
Commenting on a proposal by MK Shelly Yacimovich (Labor) to restrict executive salaries, Ofer said, "Since I don’t take Yacimovich into consideration as far as economic matters are concerned, I have no comment."
Israel Corp. (TASE: ILCO), a subsidiary of Ofer Brothers, is one of Israel's top holding companies, controlling Israel Chemicals Ltd. (TASE: CHIM), Oil Refineries Ltd. (TASE:ORL), 100% of Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., and stakes in Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: TSEM; TASE: TSEM) and other holdings. The company is expanding globally in the energy market, and has invested in Shai Agassi's electric car venture, Project Better Place.
"Globes" also presented Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) controlling shareholder Yitzhak Tshuva and Fishman Holdings owner Eliezer Fishman with the Global Entrepreneur Award. Eliezer Fishman is the controlling shareholder in “Globes”.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 10, 2007
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