18 Japanese investors have invested $80 million in Vertex Venture Capital, which manages $626 million.
Vertex founder and managing partner Yoram Oron was in the entourage of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during his visit to Japan last month. Oron says that Japanese financial and industrial companies are very interested in Israel, and he predicts a large increase in Japanese investment in Israeli securities, high-tech companies, and venture capital funds.
Oron added, "Some of our investors were present at a meeting with Olmert. They expressed interest in Israeli technology, especially Shai Agassi's electric car venture Project Better Place."
Japanese investors first invested in Vertex eight years ago, when it acquired Israel Infrastructure Fund (IIF), whose partner, David Heller, now a partner at Vertex, had studied and lived in Japan for five years. He is responsible, among other things, for relations with Japan.
For the first time, Heller has agreed to disclose some of Vertex's Japanese investors. "On the manufacturing side, there is Hitachi, Fujitsu, MPT - the world's largest multimedia company - Seiko, and others. On the financial side, there are companies such as Nomura, Niko, and Aizawa Securities."
Oron added that Actimize Ltd. was presented to Hitachi. "We thought that through Hitachi, we'd reach financial customers in Japan, and so it was. Voltaire also signed an agreement with a large Japanese distributor via an introduction through our investors. In the past, we presented PowerDsine to Fujitsu, which was the company's first big Japanese customer. That deal made it possible for PowerDsine to go public on Nasdaq."
>"Globes": What about direct investment?
Oron: "A week ago, MPT invested in WisAir. Niko invested in Extricom. We're working with investors to help them create more opportunities in Israel beyond venture capital."
What will boost Japanese investment in Israel?
"The great improvement in diplomatic relations between the countries and reciprocal visits has legitimated exposure by large companies to Israel. Today, we're seeing large Japanese companies consider setting up R&D activity and investing in Israel."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 11, 2008
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