Tel Aviv, July 6, 2000
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Joins FTSE All-World Index
(Communicated by the TASE Spokesman)
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange announced that 23
of its listed
companies were included in the FTSE All-World Index. The new index,
launched June
30, includes stocks from 49 exchanges worldwide.
FTSE has classified Israel as an Advanced-Emerging market along with
Greece,
Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, South Africa and Taiwan. The Israeli
stocks weighting in
the FTSE All-World Index is 0.07%, similar to the weightings of Austria
and New
Zealand.
A countrys classification is dependent on the following primary
factors: Data quality
(availability and timeliness), free flow of foreign exchange, GDP (per
capita), market
breadth (number of eligible constituents), market depth (number of
industrial sectors),
reliable price information, stock market capitalisation vs GDP and
unrestricted/low
restrictions on foreign investment. The list of secondary factors
includes: Efficient
settlement systems, liquidity (minimum stock market turnover, market
maturity,
membership of economic group or common currency block and total stock
market
capitalisation.
FTSE estimates that "overseas investment in the constituent's stock is
likely to
increase following Israel's inclusion in the FTSE All-World Index, with
an impact on
trading volumes. Now that Israel is a member country in the new index,
qualifying
companies listed on the TASE are automatically part of other indexes
calculated within
the FTSE family of indexes."
Prof. Yair Orgler, chairman of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, said that
the inclusion of
the Exchange in the new index would boost international investment on
the TASE. "We
believe that the continued growth of the Israeli economy will keep
fueling the stock
market's expansion", Mr. Orgler said.
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, founded in 1953, is owned by its 28 member
firms and
is regulated by the Israel Securities Authority. The Exchange provides a
highly
advanced electronic trading system for shares, bonds, Treasury bills and
derivatives.
All trades are cleared and settled by the TASE Clearing House. The TASE
offers
international investors a combination of attractive investment
opportunities and a full
complement of market services, including an elaborate and user-friendly
website at
http://www.tase.co.il.