(Communicated by the Finance Ministry’s Overseas Economic Information, International Affairs Department)

Minister of Finance Dr. Yuval Steinitz spoke on Sunday 16 December 2012 at the annual conference of Adif in Ramat Gan and announced that “the Ministry of Finance Economics and State Revenues Department has updated the growth forecasts for 2013 and 2014. In 2013, the growth forecast will be 3.5% and in 2014 - 3.9%.

Minister Steinitz added: “I would like to warn that in this case, the addition to the growth rate does not affect the addition to the State revenues, since the revenues from the taxes on gas were factored in. The effect on the creation of jobs is limited.”

The Minister added: “Assuming the growth forecast materializes, and that it is a realistic forecast that was prepared by the Economics and State Revenues Department and the management of the Ministry of Finance, over the next two years Israel will continue to be the number one growth economy among all the countries of the developed Western world. We must do our utmost to preserve a policy that continues to reinforce the economy's growth engines, to promote investment and to promote the creation of jobs.”