Tel-Aviv, Wednesday, Aprli 20 – Shares of Shamir Optical Industry, the first kibbutz-based company to trade on Nasdaq, will begin trading on the TASE on May 2.

Shamir Optical floated on Nasdaq in March 2005. The company was able to list on the TASE soon afterward due to an amendment to the Securities Regulations, under which companies with a value

greater than $150 million may dual-list without first trading on Nasdaq for a year. Shamir Optical Industry’s current market capitalization of $233 million will allow the share to be included in the TA-100 and Tel-Tech indices. The company’s shares trade under the ticker symbol SHMR.

With the addition of Shamir Optical Industry, the number of dual-listed companies on the TASE reaches 28. Dual-listed shares have enjoyed a significant increase in turnovers over the last year.

Giora Ben-Zeev, CEO of Shamir Optical Industry, commented, “Listing Shamir on the TASE will expand trading hours in the company’s shares and allow easier access for Israeli investors”.

Shamir Optical Industry Ltd. develops and manufactures progressive lenses. The company was founded in the early 1970s as a manufacturer of bifocal lenses. In the early 1980s, Shamir Optical began developing progressive lenses. Shamir Optical is considered a leader in its field, developing, manufacturing, and marketing progressive lenses for the optics market. Shamir Optical’s progressive lenses combine several optical powers in a single lens, providing a smooth, gradual transition from distance, through mid-range, to close-up vision (reading).

Shamir Optical has developed sophisticated software for designing progressive lenses (through a subsidiary). The company has also developed the unique, advanced lens development software Eye Point Technology, which generates a simulation of the eye’s vision through the lens. The software is used by the company’s R&D division to develop and manufacture high-quality lenses at the forefront of current technology in the market.

For additional information about Shamir Optical Industry, see the company’s website at www.shamir.co.il