Annual bond drive

Israel continues to be an attractive location for investors in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

In investment circles, the state of Florida and Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties — as well as the cities of Miami Beach and Boca Raton — have something in common: They all invest in State of Israel bonds.

Amid the turmoil of the Middle East, the state of Israel continues to be an attractive location for investors in the United States and elsewhere around the Western Hemisphere. And on Sunday, the Israel Bonds’ International Prime Minister’s Club Dinner will drive home the point at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach to kick off the nation’s annual bond drive in the United States.

Last year, U.S. sales exceeded $1 billion for the fifth straight year, according to the Development Corporation for Israel/Israel Bonds.

By most financial community accounts, Israel’s economy is on a roll. The inter-governmental Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates Israel’s economic growth will check in at above 3.25 percent in 2018 and 2019. And the Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch ratings agencies consistently accord the country upper echelon grades.

“Israel’s well-developed institutions and education system have led to a diverse and advanced economy,” Fitch declared in a note to investors last November. S&P said last August that “Israel’s economic performance since the global financial crisis has been remarkable,” with gross domestic product standing at “$100 billion larger than in 2010.”

In an interview, Rony Hizkiyahu, accountant general for Israel’s Ministry of Finance, said Friday that the main attractions for investing in Israel are the country’s robust technology sector and growth in the natural gas sector. Aside from the nation’s homegrown biotech, e-commerce and computer software and hardware companies, many major U.S. companies maintain footprints there, including Apple and Google. The country will be exporting gas to Jordan by 2019 and is negotiating contracts with several other countries in the region including Turkey.

"We were the only OECD country upgraded [by the ratings agencies] since the financial crisis," he said.

Since its inception in 1951, the