French investment giant eyes ventures in Israel

A delegation on behalf of Caisse des Depots, France's largest state-run investment fund, is slated to arrive in Israel on Tuesday for a study tour of the local hi-tech industry and discussions regarding potential investment in joint ventures, Hebrew daily Ma'ariv reported.


The fund, which currently manages capital totaling 255 billion euro (362 billion U.S. dollars), seeks to get an insight of Israeli hi-tech's "innovation and success secrets," according to the report.


The French are scheduled to hold meetings with public officials and private businessmen, including Yigal Erlich, one of the founders of Israel's venture capital funds, Avi Hasson, the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry's chief scientist, and Erel Margalit, founder and managing partner of JVP, which was named as one of the three leading private equity funds in Europe in 2010.


Established in 1816 to restructure France's economy following the collapse of the Napoleonic Empire, Caisse des Depots engages in long-term investments of public resources and promotes entrepreneurship, private-sector companies and universities.


The fund capped 2010 with a net profit of 2.15 billion euro (3.05 billion dollars), an 8.1 percent rise from the previous year.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)