The Chief Economist’s Office in the Finance Ministry has released its annual report on foreign investment in Israel for 2023. According to the report, while inward investment globally fell 20%, the picture in Israel was more complicated.
In 2023, foreign investment in Israel totaled $32.9 billion, 40% more than in 2022, when the total was $23.5 billion. A single deal, however, namely Intel’s $15 billion investment in expanding its Kiryat Gat factory, accounts for the rise. Excluding Intel, foreign investment in Israel last year totaled $18 billion, 24% less than in 2022.
The decline is clear in the number of deals: just 1,563, compared with 2,502 in 2022, representing a 62% drop.
Besides Intel, the most prominent deals in 2023 were the $3.6 billion acquisition of Imperva by French giant Thales S.A., and the $1.2 billion investment by India’s Adani Group in Haifa Port. In the breakdown by sector, 48% of foreign investment went to the semiconductor industry; 31% to IT, and 6% to life sciences. The US continues to lead foreign investment in Israel by a distance, with $24 billion, 73% of the total. In second place is France, with $3.7 billion.
What about 2024?
The report also provides preliminary data on the first half of 2024, indicating a degree of recovery. Foreign investment in the first half of this year totaled $11.8 billion, representing an increase of 15% over the corresponding period of 2023. The quarterly figures are $4.4 billion in the first quarter (460 deals) and $7.4 billion for the second (450 deals).
Chief Economist Dr. Shmuel Abramzon said, “The global trend of a slowdown in flow of foreign investment in 2023 did not omit Israel. The scope of deals in Israel stood out favorably in 2023 thanks to the huge investment by Intel, but was adversely affected in the fourth quarter of the year by the Swords of Iron war. The available data for 2024 indicate growth in foreign investment transactions in Israel, and the improvement in the security and diplomatic environment can be expected to support a continuation of that trend.”
