Israel received $507 million worth of foreign direct investment through local banks in March, down from $1.04 billion in February but above $340 million in January, the Bank of Israel said on Sunday.
Foreign direct investment in March was distributed across a range of companies, the central bank said. In February, FDI jumped due to a $650 million acquisition by NCR of Israeli retail software company Retalix.
Foreigners invested a net $80 million in shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in March, following net investment of $550 million the prior two months.
In March, foreigners sold around $320 million net in unlinked government bonds that had matured and sold around $70 million in short-term bills called makams.
Preliminary figures for April indicate sales of about $100 million in makams, investment of $530 million in government bonds and purchases of $100 million in Tel Aviv-traded shares.