Tel-Aviv, Monday, February 14 – The Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange launched the Maala Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Index on February 13. The new index comprises the shares of the top 20 companies on the Maala social responsibility rating (see list of shares attached).

Maala is a non-profit professional organization uniting member businesses that are leaders in working towards social change in Israel. The organization promotes social and environmental responsibility in business and rates the largest companies in the economy according to their level of community involvement and contribution to society. Maala rates companies which are included in the TA-100 Index or whose turnover is larger than $100 million, from various sectors, including services, commerce, industry, construction, and infrastructure.

Shares on the Maala Social Responsibility Index must be among the TASE’s 200 most actively traded shares and must meet minimum public float requirements, including a 15% float rate and a float value of at least $18 million. The index will be published daily at the end of trading and updated annually on June 1 (first update on June 1, 2005).

Maala’s rating criteria reflect the organization’s view that social responsibility is expressed not merely in donations, but in the way in which firms manage their on-going business activities. Criteria include the scope of contributions in shekels, contributions relative to profit or turnover, and the companies’ conduct towards their employees, customers, suppliers, and the community and environment at large.

The complete criteria for Maala ratings are available at www.maala.org.il (Hebrew only).

Ronit Harel Ben-Ze’ev, Senior VP and Director of the Economic Department at the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange, stated that the new index will increase the exposure of social and environmental responsibility issues, and will contribute to developing social responsibility as a norm among TASE-listed companies.

Social responsibility and community service are key issues in businesses worldwide, and the developments in this area have resulted in significant gains in the management of investments according to ethical, social, and environmental standards.

The asset value of U.S. funds that invest on an ethical or social basis amounted to some $2 trillion in 2003. In Europe, 313 social/environmental funds were registered in the first half of 2003. Accordingly, two of the largest index companies in the world, Dow Jones and FTSE, have for the past several years calculated and published a list of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) indices.

Maala’s Managing Director, Talia Aharoni, says, “In Israel there is currently a considerable number of firms operating along the lines of social responsibility. The Maala Index will enable investors to invest in this attractive array of companies, which maintain a clear balance between a policy of social responsibility and commercial success. We hope that the Maala Index will outperform the major TASE indices.”

MAALA Index (As of 24.1.2005)