Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today met financial leaders in Tel Aviv in order to obtain their impressions on the global economic situation and its effect on the Israeli economy. Minister of Finance Ronnie Bar-On and Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer were also present.
Fischer opened the meeting by noting that foreign investors were still coming to Israel. He added that pursuing responsible policies would ensure that Israel would get through the current crisis in good shape and achieve 5% or higher GDP growth.
Participating business leaders included Fishman Holdings chairman Eliezer Fishman, Bank Leumi president and CEO Galia Maor, Elbit System chairman Michael Federmann, Harel Insurance chairman Yair Hamburger, Motorola Israel general manager Elisha Yanay, Migdal Insurance chairman Aharon Fogel, Manufacturers Association president Shraga Brosh, Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce president Uriel Lynn, Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Israel president Reuven Schiff, and David Brodet.
Ministry of Finance director general Yarom Ariav and Budget Director Ram Belnikov were also present.
Maor said that the bank data showed that Israel was heading for a more serious slowdown than data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics. She added, however, that very rapid growth would resume after the crisis. She said that budget discipline was of paramount importance at this time, as well as continuing to reduce the deficit to GDP ratio, which affects Israel's credit rating.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 11, 2008
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