A first: Cukierman takes GoforIsrael investment conference to China

By NIV ELIS

Published: SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 20:26

Updated: SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 20:25

Money Seized in egg raid (photo credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) — Money Seized in egg raid

(photo credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

“We’re getting amazing exposure, but I think what makes it interesting for the investors isn’t the quantity of the Israeli companies, but the quality."

1,800 Chinese investors were meeting 100 Israeli startups in the GoForIsrael conference Tuesday, a high-profile investment conference hosted by Cukierman & Co. Investment House and Catalyst Funds.

That’s not unusual; versions of the event focused on bringing European and Chinese investment to Israel have been around for years. This conference, however, was taking place in China for the first time, with stops in Shanghai and Wuhan.

“It’s the first time we’re doing it overseas. We’ve done 15 editions and all of them in Israel, so it’s a very big step,” said Edouard Cukierman, chairman of Cukierman Investment House and managing partner of the Israel- China Fund, Catalyst CEL, ahead of the conference.

The event, he said, has over 1,000 registered participants, including 180 people coming from Israel. Mobileye, Xjet, TufinZerto, Wework, and ReWalk Robotics will be among the companies presenting at the event, and will be meeting investors from Chinese investment groups including Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent.

The 100 start-ups include companies such as Real Imaging, a company focused on early stage breast cancer diagnosis; Ripples, a company that can print patterns on coffee foam; and Growponics, an agricultural tech firm.

“We didn’t expect to have so many quality participants, so we’re very happy,” said Cukierman. The conference, which is partnering with the China-Israel Changzhou Innovation Park, will include elevator pitches from the companies and one-on-one meetings with the investors.

Cukierman is optimistic that some big deals will get made.

“We’re getting amazing exposure, but I think what makes it interesting for the investors isn’t the quantity of the Israeli companies, but the quality. We have brought the best tech companies in their fields,” he said.

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The major fields of interest at the moment, he added, as reflected in the conference’s organization, are life science, TMT (technologies, media and telecommunications) and green tech.