TASE to pursue investors despite MSCI setback
Tel Aviv bourse chief executive says following rejection of application to join MSCI Europe index, 'We will make sure everyone understands the advantages of investing in Israel'
"I would have been very happy if a different decision had been taken," Levanon said at the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday. "On the other hand, as we understood from their statement, there are many entities that did recognize the advantages of investing in Israel and we will focus on them."
Equity index provider MSCI on Tuesday said Israel's market, which was moved to developed market status from emerging in May 2010, is not finding support among international institutional investors for inclusion in the MSCI Europe index.
Given some investors have started to include Israeli companies in their European portfolios, MSCI said it would continue to include Israel in its MSCI Europe + Middle East index.
"Not everyone understood the advantages of investing in Israel. We will make sure they do understand," Levanon said.
The TASE management had requested that the stock exchange be included in the MSCI Europe index following a significant drop in trading volumes since the Israeli stock market was upgraded.
Daily equity market volumes nearly halved in 2012 from their peak in 2008, before recovering to $295 million in 2013.
