JERUSALEM, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Israeli prosecutors ended an investigation of the chief executive of Bank Hapoalim , Israel’s largest lender, saying on Tuesday they lacked enough evidence to pursue fraud charges against him.

But Zion Kenan could still face punishment by Israeli banking regulators.

Last February, Israeli police recommended that the state prosecutor indict Kenan on breach of trust and fraud charges.

The state’s attorney “has decided to close the investigation against Zion Kenan … due to insufficient evidence,” it said in a statement.

The police’s fraud unit investigated Kenan and former Hapoalim Chairman Dan Dankner over the approval of a loan extended to Dankner in 2008, when Kenan held a senior position at Hapoalim but was not yet CEO.

With Kenan’s help, in October 2008 Danker received approval for a $3.4 million loan from the committee for transactions with parties connected to Hapoalim. Prosecutors had suspected Kenan did not tell the truth to committee members.

“After studying and analysing the evidence gathered in the investigation, the deputy state prosecutor decided … there is not enough evidence at the high level of proof required in criminal proceedings to prove that Kenan lied to committee members,” the attorney general’s office said on Tuesday.

JERUSALEM, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Ilan Ben-Dov plans to step down as chairman of Partner Communications, Israel’s second largest mobile phone operator, the company said on Sunday.

Partner said in a statement Ben-Dov — also the controlling shareholder — intends to continue to serve as a director of Partner and that the board will discuss appointing a new chairman in the next few days.

The company did not give a reason for Ben-Dov’s resignation or state when he would end his term.

Partner’s shares were down 1.6 percent at midday in Tel Aviv compared with a flat broader marker.

Ben-Dov controls Partner, which operates under the Orange brand name, through stakes in Scailex and its parent Suny Electronics.

Scailex, the sole importer of Samsung mobile handsets in Israel, holds 44.54 percent of Partner’s shares while Suny has an additional 1.4 percent.

Ori Licht, an analyst at the IBI Investment House, said investors would ultimately approve of Ben-Dov’s decision to step down since reports in the Israeli media about problems with his other businesses were weighing on its shares.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries’ new chief executive is set to shift the company’s focus to branded drugs from generics as he imports a successful strategy of making mid-sized deals from Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The transformation — which hinges on Jeremy Levin picking a handful of winning new products to boost Teva’s branded portfolio — is unlikely to happen overnight.

In hunting for potentially lucrative experimental medicines, Levin will be competing with a wide field of rivals, including the world’s biggest pharmaceutical manufacturers, most of whom are hungry for new drugs to refill pipelines depleted by patent expirations.

Levin, senior vice president for strategy, alliances and transactions at Bristol-Myers since 2007, will take the reins at Teva in May in the wake of Shlomo Yanai’s surprising resignation after five years at the helm.

Teva’s shares jumped 3.3 percent on the news on Monday in Tel Aviv, an indication that investors were unhappy with Yanai — who engineered a number of large acquisitions — and sought a change in direction that included a strategy to replace its top-selling multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone.

Analysts believe the move to change CEOs had been in the works for months since Teva’s share performance has been poor and Teva Chairman Phillip Frost said the process to find a successor to Yanai took almost all of last year and that the transition process should be orderly.

The South African-born, Cambridge-educated Levin, global head of business development and strategic alliances at Novartis from 2003 to 2007, has so far declined to give any specifics on his strategy for Israel-based Teva, citing the need to complete a “deep dive” in the next few months.

TEL AVIV, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd named Jeremy Levin, a senior executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, as chief executive to replace Shlomo Yanai, who had faced criticism from investors for his record in finding a replacement for a top-selling drug.

Yanai, 59, said on Monday he would step down in May after five years as president and CEO of the Israel-based company and was mulling opportunities in both the private and public sector.

During his tenure, Teva’s revenue jumped to an expected $22 billion in 2012 from $8.4 billion in 2006, partly on a number of large acquisitions of companies including Barr, Ratiopharm and Cephalon, as well as through expansion into emerging markets.

However, Natali Gotlieb, an analyst at IBI Investment House, said Yanai was not a favourite of investors. “For some time now there have been voices among investors calling for Yanai to step aside. So while the timing of the announcement … may be surprising, the move itself is not,” she said.

Gotlieb, who rates Teva a “buy”, said that despite Yanai’s successes, investors were unhappy that Teva has not been quick enough in finding a substitute product for multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone, which is facing competition.

Shares of Teva, which has a market value of $36 billion on Nasdaq, closed 3.3 percent higher in Tel Aviv after dropping more than 20 percent in 2011. Its Nasdaq shares have slid more than 40 percent to $40.36 from a year high of $57.08 on Jan. 26, 2011.

“From here on … we are going to leverage our strengths and look to generate growth beyond what has been accomplished,” the South African-born Levin said at a news conference.

JERUSALEM, Dec 26 (Reuters) – Debt-laden Scailex , the main shareholder in Partner Communications , said on Monday it was seeking to sell a block of shares in the Israeli mobile phone operator to shore up its balance sheet.

Scailex, the sole importer of Samsung mobile handsets in Israel, holds 44.54 percent of Partner’s shares, with its parent Suny Electronics holding an additional 1.4 percent.

Partner is Israel’s second largest mobile phone provider and operates under the Orange brand name.

The Calcalist financial daily said on its website Scailex was in contact with private equity firm TPG to sell a 16 percent stake in Partner. A Scailex spokeswoman declined to comment.

Scailex’s share price rose 5 percent to 16.75 shekels after the firm’s announcement.

Scailex’s did not specify the size of stake it wanted to divest, but said it sought a strategic partner while maintaining control and a significantly higher transaction price than Partner’s market value.

It said it was looking for an international bank to make the deal.

JERUSALEM, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Partner Communications , Israel’s second-largest mobile phone operator, missed estimates with a 44 percent fall in quarterly profit and said it would lay off workers as part of an efficiency plan to tackle increased competition and regulatory changes in an already saturated market.

Partner and rivals Cellcom and Bezeq unit Pelephone were hit at the start of 2011 by a steep drop in fees mobile operators charge each other to connect calls and the elimination of exit fines to customers.

At the same time, in a bid to lower prices, Israel’s Communications Ministry issued licences for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), which will use the infrastructure of existing operators, while approving the establishment of two more mobile providers.

“The company is preparing for the changes in the telecommunication market and will adjust the number of positions and the workforce to a level appropriate for the company’s objectives and market conditions, in addition to taking the necessary steps to improve operational efficiency,” said Chief Executive Haim Romano, who took up the CEO post last month.

The company did not say how many job cuts it would make but it is believed to be in the hundreds. Partner has the largest workforce of the three mobile operators since it does not outsource its customer service.

Romano on Wednesday also told Reuters that in addition to cutting operational costs it plans to increase its investment on upgrading its network to be ready for LTE — high-speed wireless technology — and 4G. It has already signed a $100 million deal with Ericsson for the upgrade, while total capital expenses will be 650 million shekels in 2012.

Shares of Partner, which operates under the Orange brand name in Israel, were down 0.9 pct at 35.31 shekels in afternoon trading in Tel Aviv, in a flat broader market.

TEL AVIV (Reuters) – While most NBA players wait and wonder whether there will be a season, Jordan Farmar has emerged as a star in Israel.

Farmar, a 6-foot-2 guard with the New Jersey Nets, is one of a handful of National Basketball Association players who have opted to play in Europe during the ongoing lockout that threatens the entire 2011-2012 season.

“I really just wanted to make the most out of a tough situation that we are going through in the States and enjoy this process,” Farmar, who is playing point guard for Maccabi Tel Aviv, said in an interview with Reuters.

“I wanted to play at a high level and play somewhere where they value winning.”

As a player representative for the Nets, Farmar keeps on top of the labor situation and fully supports the decision of the players’ union, which this week rejected a proposal from the owners calling for a 50-50 split of basketball related income that would have provided for a 72-game season to start in mid-December.

“I understand what we are going through and the points we are fighting for,” Farmar said. “The ground we made over the past labor negotiations, to give them back now is a tough thing to swallow.”

“A lot of guys want to be out there playing and I am one of them. I am in a different situation because I have a comfortable situation here, although there is still nothing like having a job that you are familiar with.”

JERUSALEM, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Partner Communications , Israel’s second-largest mobile phone operator, plans to lay off hundreds of workers by the end of the year as the telecoms sector is being hit by competition and a tougher regulatory environment, an industry source said on Thursday.

The source told Reuters that Partner, which had boosted its workforce in 2010 by 1,500 to more than 8,000 workers, would lay off as many as 500 workers.

Partner, which operates in Israel under the Orange brand name, declined to comment on the specifics of its plan.

“As part of its ongoing business management, the company adjusts the size of its workforce to meet the changing needs of the market,” Partner said, without elaborating.

Israeli financial media reports said that the job cuts, which could reach 1,000, were decided by incoming chief executive Haim Romano. They added that Partner has the highest workforce in the sector because it relies less on outsourcing.

The Globes financial daily said most of the jobs going were in customer service centres. Two such centres in Israel will be closed while others will be consolidated, it added.

Ori Licht, an analyst at the IBI Investment House, estimated 1,000 lay-offs would lead to operational savings of 100 million shekels.

JERUSALEM, Nov 3 (Reuters) – - Camtek Ltd , a maker of automated optical inspection systems, reported higher third-quarter profit on Thursday, boosted by an expansion of its product line, and projected another year of solid sales growth in 2012.

The Israeli company, which sells its systems to the semiconductor, manufacturing and packaging and printed circuit board industries, has recently moved to five product lines from two following two acquisitions.

“The three new product lines have been able to compensate for the drop in our markets,” Chief Executive Officer Roy Porat told Reuters. “Most of our industry dropped 40 percent from the beginning of the year.”

Camtek forecasts $107 million of revenue in 2011 for a 25 percent growth rate from 2010.

Asked if the company could grow the same in 2012, Porat said: “It’s a realistic number, because we have new products we just launched that are continuing to get traction.”

Porat said revenue growth next year would also depend on the global economic situation not deteriorating.

“As long as there is no major global crisis we can definitely grow next year,” he said, noting that 80 percent of Camtek’s sales are to Asia.

JERUSALEM, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Israel’s cabinet approved a series of tax changes on Sunday aimed at putting more money in consumers’ pockets following protests against the high cost of living.

Ministers voted unanimously to lower taxes on petrol and add 5,000 shekels ($1,400) a year to the salaries of fathers of children under three years of age beginning in 2012.

They will be funded in part by an increase in the corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 23 percent and a hike in taxes on capital gains to 25 percent from 20 percent.

A “rich tax” will also be imposed on those earning more than 1 million shekels a year. The tax components of the plan still require parliamentary approval.

“The consumer will feel in his pocket the cabinet’s decision today. We will continue to act with fiscal responsibility in order to avoid global economic turmoil,” the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted him as saying after the cabinet vote.

Netanyahu said that more steps to reduce the cost of living for Israelis would be approved later.

Earlier this month, the cabinet passed an economic reform plan drawn up by a government-appointed panel led by economist Manuel Trajtenberg to boost welfare spending and lower defence expenditures.