During 2016, overseas investment in Israel totaled $12.6BN - a 7% increase over 2015, while overseas investment in the world declined by 2%.  320 overseas multinationals operate in Israel, spending 50% of their research & development budget in Israel, employing 50,000 people. 200 multinationals perform both production and R & D operations in Israel. During the last decade, there has been an annual increase of 30 multinationals entering Israel, compared to a 10-company-increase a decade ago (Globes, September 7, 2017).
Japan's Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma (MTPC) acquired Israel's NeuroDerm, which developed drug treatments for Parkinson's disease, for $1.1BN in cash--the largest ever buyout of an Israeli pharmaceutical company. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (August 2, 2017), "the flow of deals [in Israel's hightech sector] seems to be increasing steadily. On July 25, 2017, five separate acquisitions totaling $135MN were announced, and capital raising by Israeli companies totaled $1.26BN in the 2nd quarter of 2017, compared to $1.8BN in the peak, 4th quarter of 2016.  The Mitsubishi purchase reflects the growing involvement of Japanese multinationals in Israel, especially in technology companies.
