ISRAELI ECONOMY HOLDING ITS OWN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 003054 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR WILLIAMS, WATERS, GREENE, WAECHTER; NSC FOR ABRAMS, LOGERFO; TREASURY FOR HIRSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2016 TAGS: ECON EFIN PGOV PREL IS SUBJECT: ISRAELI ECONOMY HOLDING ITS OWN Classified By: Economic Counselor William Weinstein for reasons 1.4 b a nd d. -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The Lebanon conflict war has negatively affected the resurgent Israeli economy, but has not yet caused severe damage. Governor of the Bank of Israel (BOI) Stanley Fischer said at a press event on August 2 that by the end of its first month, the war will have cut Israeli GDP growth by between .7 and .9 percent, on an annualized basis. As long as the fighting continues, it is difficult to accurately assess the damage, but by all accounts, it has significantly damaged industries, small businesses, and personal property in the north. In addition to government compensation for companies, workers, and individual property owners, the defense budget -- which had been slated for substantial cuts over the next few years -- will likely be increased. Compounding the costs to the budget, tax revenues will decline from the northern section of the country, which accounts for about 20 percent of Israel's economic activity. The tourism sector, which was experiencing a banner year prior to the outbreak of the war, has been hit very hard. While tourism in the north is now non-existent, tourism in the rest of the country has slowed as well. Together with the constant Qassam missile attacks from Gaza on towns and kibbutzim in the western Negev, the war in the north has convinced many potential tourists to stay away. Despite the difficult situation, the GOI has announced its determination to stick to the 2007 budget framework of a two percent deficit target and a 1.7 percent increase in expenditures, although taking recent events into account, there will doubtless be changes in the way funds will be allocated. End Summary. -------------- The North is Hit Hard -------------- ¶2. (C) The Israeli economy has been hit hard by the war, especially in the north. Many people have fled the areas close to the border with Lebanon that have been experiencing intense rocket barrages, and little economic activity is taking place there. However, the slowdown is not limited to the border, but reaches the entire northern section of the country, where industry is working sporadically at best, 
given that people are spending so much time in bomb shelters. Since the region accounts for close to 20 percent of Israel's total economic activity, the slowdown will have a meaningful impact on Israel's overall economic situation. As of July 26, the Manufacturers Association estimated that damage had already amounted to about NIS 2.3 billion (about USD 500 million). About 55 percent of factories in the north are either closed or operating on a partial schedule. -------------- Tax Revenues Will be Down -------------- ¶3. (C) The BOI expects the weekly damage to the economy to be between NIS 750 million to 1.1 billion (USD 170 to 250 million),for as long as the fighting lasts. Tax revenues will be down substantially (about .3 percent of GDP, according to the BOI),and there will be a great demand for government compensation for all of the sectors whose activities were inhibited by the warfare. The government will also be involved in compensating private property owners who lack adequate insurance for the heavy damages they have suffered as a result of the rocket attacks from Lebanon. However, one bright spot looking towards 2007 is the likelihood that the results of the war will provide momentum for growth in a number of sectors, such as the defense industries, and construction and development. This could provide the stimulus the economy needs to get back on the fast growth track and provide much-needed tax revenue. One option being discussed widely in the press to raise more revenue is the cancellation of the recent one percent cut in the Value Added Tax, which went into effect on July 1, reducing it to 15.5 percent. This would produce an additional NIS 3.3 billion (about USD 750 million) in revenue. Such a decision is unlikely, however, before an end to hostilities, when an assessment can be made of the overall impact of the war on the economy. -------------- Tourism in North Devastated -------------- ¶4. (C) Most hard hit has been the tourism sector. While the sector represents only about 1.5 percent of Israel's GDP, it is particularly important in the north, where bed-and-breakfasts and nature reserves predominate. 2006 had been shaping up to be a banner year. Tourism officials expected about 2.4 million visitors, on a par with 2000, before the onset of the Intifada. However, tourism in the north has come to a complete halt, and has slowed down substantially in other parts of the country as well. Given that rockets are falling both in the north from Lebanon and in the south from Gaza, many potential tourists have postponed or canceled their trips. One positive aspect for the north is that much of the tourism there is local -- by other Israelis. It is therefore likely that Israelis will resume traveling there once the violence ends. If that happens soon, there may still be time to salvage some of the summer tourist season before the September 1 start of the school year. The general expectation is that stability will have been established in the area quickly enough for there to be a relatively normal amount of tourism in the north during the September-October Jewish holiday season. -------------- Interest Rate Hiked -------------- ¶5. (C) On July 24, near the end of the second week of the war, the BOI announced a .25 percent hike in the interest rate to 5.5 percent. The Bank explained the move as necessary due to the changed security situation, which could result in capital outflows. Increasing the interest rate reduced the impetus toward capital flight, strengthened the shekel, and reassured investors that the BOI was keeping a close watch on the impact of the violence on the Israeli economy. Although the rate increase did generate some criticism from the business sector for making it even harder for businesses in the north to recover, the general market reaction was positive. After a sharp drop at the beginning of the war, the shekel has returned to its prewar levels versus the dollar. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has also recovered from its initial nine percent drop and is now only about two percent lower than before the onset of the violence. An additional impetus for increasing the interest rate was that inflation was inching up, coming in at 1.6 percent for the first half of the year, and pointing to a full-year inflation figure near the upper end of the GOI's one to three percent target inflation range. -------------- War Will Cost About 1 Percent of GDP -------------- ¶6. (C) Israel enjoyed a strong fiscal situation during the first half of 2006. Since the 2006 budget was approved only in June, spending in the first half of the year was extremely restricted. Coupled with the increased tax revenues due to more economic activity, the budget surplus for the first half of the year reached about NIS 4.7 billion (just over USD 1 billion). Regarding the deficit, the widely held view was that it would be close to zero for the year. Given these strong pre-war conditions, it will not be particularly difficult for the government to deal with the new demands for spending spawned by the war in the short term. Pre-war estimates of growth for 2006 ranged from 4.5 to 5.5 percent, and Fischer's view that the fighting will cost the economy close to one percent of GDP for the year is widely accepted. If the war continues for a longer period, the cost will grow. Regardless, plans for the 2007 budget will likely be significantly affected, with rising demands for new spending across the political spectrum on defense, social welfare, and economic recovery for the north. The GOI has already decided to delay budget discussion previously scheduled for August until September. -------------- Sticking to the 2007 Budget Framework -------------- ¶7. (C) The Prime Minister's office, the Ministry of Finance, and the BOI all say that the GOI will stick to the agreed 2007 budget framework of a two percent budget deficit and a 1.7 percent increase in expenditures. (Note: The terms of the U.S. - Israel Loan Guarantee Agreement of 2003 require Israel to maintain a budget deficit of less than three percent and to limit annual expenditure increases to one percent or less. End Note) Plans to increase social welfare spending, a hot-button issue in the recent elections, were largely based on cutting the defense budget by about 500 million shekels per year over the next several years. The defense budget, if anything, is now more likely to be increased rather than cut, meaning that the money to pay for reconstruction in the north and increased social spending will have to come from elsewhere. Commentators are beginning to discuss the possibility that the fight against poverty will once again be de-emphasized in order to free up funds to deal with the results of the war and to increase defense spending. (Comment: Given that the Labor party only very reluctantly agreed to accept a 1.7 percent budget expenditure increase for 2007, there is little doubt that it will be pushing for a much higher figure in future years -- and may even demand a greater than 1.7 percent increase for 2007 as well. Any insistence by PM Olmert on maintaining strict budget discipline would be an additional destabilizing element for a coalition that will be facing plenty of post-conflict discord even aside from budget issues. If he gives in and agrees to higher spending, it might endanger the fiscal discipline that has made possible Israel's strong recovery in recent years. End Comment) -------------- Rating Services Remain Positive -------------- ¶8. (C) Despite the violence, the Israeli economy continues to get high marks from international ratings services. Fitch produced a positive report several days into the fighting, saying on July 16 that "although confidence in Israel will take a short-term knock from the recent escalation of violence, the economy starts from a buoyant position, which, together with a robust policy framework, will help limit the economic fallout." Standard and Poor said on July 25 that the fighting will have only a temporary and manageable impact on the economy and public finances. They said that "it is expected that continued strong diplomatic and financial support from the U.S. will balance high strong external security risks, which affect Israel more than any of its category peers." They added that their positive rating (A-/A for long term foreign and domestic debt) reflects the "improved resilience of Israel's public finances and economy to geopolitical shocks after a three-year period of fiscal consolidation and strong economic growth." In a July 24 report, Dunn and Bradstreet noted that in contrast to the Intifada, which occurred in a period of economic slowdown and decline in global demand, the current fighting comes during one of the brightest periods for the Israeli economy -- so the GOI is in a much stronger position to deal with the economic implications of the violence than it would have been in the past. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** JONES