Foreign investors now own close to 40% of Bezeq, up from under 10% a decade ago, the telecom group’s chairman, Tomer Raavad, said Sunday, pointing to growing international appetite for Israeli digital infrastructure.
Speaking at the Globes “Seeing Beyond the Trend” conference, Raavad told the financial daily that sophisticated foreign investors such as BlackRock and Fidelity have entered the Israeli market with 15-year investment theses. “They see beyond the trend. In the end, Israel does not have many competitors,” he said, describing the country as a developed market with the fast population and GDP growth of a developing one.
Raavad said he meets foreign investors at least once a month and that their biggest concern is instability and Israel’s risk premium. “Relations with the countries of the region, first and foremost, are the key to stability,” he said.
Structural separation decision expected within weeks
On the planned cancellation of Bezeq’s structural separation, Raavad said the company is “in the home stretch with the regulator” and hopes to hear a decision in the coming weeks. He said the move would unlock a NIS 1.2 billion tax asset and add 10% to 15% to free cash flow. The decision has not been approved.
Raavad called the cellular market “battered” and “problematic,” noting that an unlimited monthly plan costs 40 shekels, with no parallel in the world, which makes it hard for companies to justify investment and makes consolidation inevitable. Bezeq’s Pelephone unit is “in process” with Wecom, he said; no deal has been signed.
JBizNews Desk | Tel Aviv
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