Cabinet approves benefits for National Cyber Park in Be'er Sheva
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9/6/2015
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Israel's cyber industry is on a major growth trend, while harnessing the country's relative advantages into providing momentum for the growth of the global cyber market, which is expected to double in size in the coming years.
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PM Netanyahu at Israel Cabinet meeting
Copyright: GPO/Kobi Gideon
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(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
The
Cabinet, at its weekly meeting today (Sunday, 6 September 2015),
approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to grant benefits to
employers in the cyber field at the national cyber park in Be'er Sheva.
The benefit is designed to attract many leading companies and thousands
of employees to the park in the coming years, with the intention of
achieving 2,500 employees in the next decade (approximately 50% of those
currently employed in Israel).
The decision is also designed to
encourage companies to begin operating at the park forthwith in order
to advance the rapid development of the ecosystem at the site.
Attracting many leading multi-nationals to a new site, outside the heart
of the existing high-tech industry in Israel, is a national challenge
that requires commitment and encouragement by the government. The plan
was formulated by a team led by Prime Minister's Office Director General
Eli Groner along with Finance Ministry Budget Director Amir Levy and
Israel National Cyber Bureau head Dr. Eviatar Matania.
Prime
Minister Netanyahu: "Moving forward on the developing cyber and
high-tech park is a strategic change for Israel and creates new energy.
This is my vision. We are taking a growth engine and government
investment and are turning them into a global industry in the south.
This is a government investment that we are leveraging for security
alliances. I said that we would be among the five leading countries in
the world in cyber and we are already in the top three. Aside from the
goal of positioning Israel as a cyber power, we are pushing it so that
Be'er Sheva becomes the cyber capital of the eastern hemisphere. This
will have major positive implications for the entire Negev. This is of
historic importance and we must push it forward with full force. There
is a combination here of relying on the local market, the ability to
translate it into national capabilities and integration with the
developing market. This is what strengthens the economy so that it can
grow forward."
PMO Director General Groner: "The fact that we
are currently among the leading countries of the world in the cyber
sphere does not ensure that we will be in another decade. The State of
Israel needs to ensure its position as a global cyber leader for both
security and economic reasons, and our responsibility as the government I
to make every effort to this end."
Be'er Sheva Mayor Rubik
Danilovitz: "Today's government historic decision will turn Be'er Sheva
into an international cyber center. This is a strategic move designed to
combine research and development, knowledge-intensive industries,
technology, academia and human capital. I am convinced that this
decision will draw to Be'er Sheva cyber companies from around the world
and, as a result, the Negev and Be'er Sheva, its capital, will enjoy
economic growth and prosperity. I am full of appreciation for the
government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the confidence,
support and visionary leadership. The future is already here."
INCB
head Dr. Matania: "The cyber park in Be'er Sheva could - and needs to -
become a global cyber center that spurs the entire Negev forward.
Israel's cyber industry is on a major growth trend, while harnessing the
country's relative advantages into providing momentum for the growth of
the global cyber market, which is expected to double in size in the
coming years. The national cyber park in Be'er Sheva (CyberSpark) has
developed in recent years, since the government decided to establish it.
It has been joined by the joint INCB-Ben Gurion University of the Negev
research center (CERT-IL), which will start operations soon, as well as
a number of multi-national companies that decided set up in cyber
research and development activity. Its continued development as an
international cyber center will assist in advancing Israel's leadership
in the field and will be at the vanguard of the development of high-tech
industries in the Negev.
This decision creates a system of
grants and is a significant tool in the government effort to turn Be'er
Sheva into a global cyber center and strengthen the national cyber park
that has already started to develop in the city. It also links two of
the government's main goals: Positioning Israel as a global cyber leader
and developing the Negev. The move is expected to lead to thousands of
new jobs in the Negev, both directly and indirectly.
The cyber
companies that will locate in the park will receive grants as a
proportion of the salaries paid to the cyber workers that they employ.
The grant ceiling is expected to come down with the passage of time. The
goal is to attract a significant number of companies to the park
already in the next three years. The percentage of the grant for each
cyber worker will be 20% in 2016-2018, 15% in 2019, 10% in 2021 and 5%
in 2022.
Also, the government decision is expected to have a
positive influence on the economy as a whole and not just in Be'er
Sheva, since it provides additional benefits for companies that leave
their intellectual property in Israel or bring it here from abroad. The
percentage of the grant to such companies will be greater than 5%.
Companies that bring their intellectual property to Israel will receive
even larger grants of an additional 10%, so that it will be possible to
reach up to 30% of cyber workers' salaries.
Be'er Sheva has a
unique - in both Israel and the world - ecosystem that will be a source
of strength for all of its partners and a base for long-term global
leadership and development. The national cyber park in Be'er Sheva will
be a unique cluster that will provide impetus for the city's unique
combination of IDF tech units that will come to it, research and
teaching infrastructures at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the
elite industrial centers that are developing there."
INCB head
Dr. Matania pointed out that Israel is at an excellent jumping-off point
vis-à-vis its cyber industry. Approximately 250 companies are currently
active in the field, with approximately half of them being start-ups
that have been established in the past five years. Over 25
multi-national firms have cyber activity based in Israel. Since the
start of 2015, Israeli cyber companies have raised approximately $250
million, almost 20% of global investments in cyber. In the first half of
2015, 14 Israeli companies were acquired for an overall sum of $1.3
billion. The Israeli cyber industry has major growth potential that
finds expression in the possibility of increasing the market by billions
of shekels and creating thousands of new jobs.
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