In the past few years, public companies have had to deal with many challenges, from the flood of debt settlements to the plunge in trading volumes on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), and strict regulatory conditions. Against the backdrop of these shocks, the Association of Publicly Traded Companies in Israel convened today.
The participants, including National Economic Council chairman Prof. Eugene Kandel, Israel Securities Authority chairman Prof. Shmuel Hauser, and Minister of Strategic Affairs Yuval Steinitz, are discussing the central topic of this year's conference - The Israeli Capital Market - Balancing Regulation and Growth.
In the conference's opening remarks, Association of Publicly Traded Companies chairman Dan Goldstein said that there were several factors threatening the commercial sector's future. He blamed the media as one of the factors which fanned the flames social protest and of public anger, and said that the main problem was the shrinking middle class.
"In my opinion, it is impossible to buy an apartment, unless you have rich relatives… Throughout this protest, it was not clear where the money would come from," he said.
Goldstein also lambasted politicians, saying that they preferred to take populist positions rather than dealing with substantive problems. "The easiest solution in government was to attack the private sector, because it photographs well," he said.
"We're living in a completely new world, like after every financial crisis," said Kandel. "Debt levels are high, and we are affected by what is happening in the world. After a financial crisis, people stop believing in the system, which is why we see public protest against the system, which creates a lot of noise and a lot of emotion."
Kandel pointed to a number of major economic problems in Israel. Domestically, he said that Israel had a problematic geopolitical environment, but that there was also the problem of an aging population, which creates great dependence and generates great pressure on the shrinking productive level. He nonetheless maintained an optimistic line, saying that Israel was not under severe economic pressure, as many people think. "We need to increase our revenues, not necessarily by raising taxes, but through growth. At the same time, we need to provide public services at a low cost."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 3, 2013
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