Nasdaq sees a stronger year for IPOs of Israeli firms than it had in 2013, the stock exchange's vice chairman Meyer Frucher told "Reuters."
He said, "Last year there were four IPOs and they had on average an 85% increase since the IPO. So the Israeli companies do well on Nasdaq," Frucher said during a visit to Tel Aviv.
He added, "There are a lot of (Israeli) companies, a number of companies that we are engaged in various levels of conversations with. We did four last year, we think we'll do more this year."
London Stock Exchange officials who visited last month and also said they expect a boost in 2014 for Israeli companies.
With 90 companies valued at $40 billion already traded on Nasdaq, observed "Reuters" Israel is second only to China in the amount of foreign firms listed. There have been three Israeli IPOs since 2014 began and four more are in the process of going public on Nasdaq.
Frucher said, "A lot of companies incubate on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and move to Nasdaq," he said, adding that a majority of them are joint.That works very well because we are in different time zones and different trading zones and so it just extends the trading."
Frucher said Nasdaq has also been talking with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange about working together to help early stage companies grow. He added, "There is a private market that Nasdaq is setting up. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has expressed interest in such an exchange, that is for companies that are not yet ready to list on any market, but are seeking early stage capital investment."