Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Unveils Ambitious 5-Year Plan, CEO Awarded Retention Bonus

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) announced its new five-year strategic plan, aiming for significant annual revenue growth of 15%-18%. The plan, revealed Tuesday evening, focuses on increasing accessibility for both local and international investors and attracting foreign capital to the Israeli economy. Investors reacted positively, driving the TASE stock up approximately 14% during trading, potentially marking its strongest day since its 2019 IPO.

To achieve its goals, the TASE intends to align the Israeli market with international standards, extend trading hours to better overlap with global markets, and deepen relationships with foreign brokers, underwriters, and investors. The exchange also plans to enhance information accessibility in English and explore dual-currency trading for eligible securities. Furthermore, the TASE will focus on developing new products and services in equity, bond, derivative, and index markets, alongside promoting market-making mechanisms and advanced trading orders.

In recognition of his leadership, TASE CEO Itai Ben-Ze'ev was awarded a retention bonus of NIS 3.5 million, contingent on his continued employment to execute the strategic plan over the next five years. This bonus, which requires shareholder approval, follows similar retention awards in 2019 and 2023. Ben-Ze'ev will also receive options valued at NIS 1.5 million, with a strike price nearly 90% higher than the current market price, exercisable in five years.

The strategic initiatives build upon recent reforms that have strengthened the TASE, including infrastructure upgrades and new product launches. These efforts have led to increased trading volumes, with daily trading turnover rising from NIS 284 million in 2019 to approximately NIS 5.7 billion in the first half of 2026. The exchange has also benefited from a global trend of expanding investor bases and the introduction of new investors, as well as its unique position in the domestic market.

Recent changes, such as the shift to a Sunday-Friday trading week, have boosted foreign investor participation. Trading volumes on Fridays have surged by 173% compared to Sundays in 2025, with foreign investors accounting for about 40% of Friday's turnover, up from 12.5% on Sundays last year. The TASE reported a 38% increase in revenues to approximately NIS 368 million in the first half of the year, with net profit nearly doubling to NIS 156 million, driven by increased trading volumes and asset values.