The government has companies that it owns. The government can sell part of the control in these companies, by selling securities to the public. The sale of stocks of a government-owned company to the public is called "privatization", meaning the transformation of the company from a government company into a "public" or "traded" company. Privatization is an expression of an economic concept aimed at reducing government involvement in economic life. Since 1990 many government companies in Israel have been privatized on the TASE, including Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Bezeq, Israel Chemicals, El Al and others.
