Tel Aviv 25: Gas in, insurance out: The large cap index will be reworked at the end of June. [Globes, Tel Aviv, Israel]

Jun. 16--The fad of investing in gas and oil exploration partnerships will be reflected in the upcoming update of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) indices at the end of the month. Yesterday was the last day for determining which shares will enter and which will be relegated from the Tel Aviv 25 and 100 indices. Unless there is a last minute surprise, the shares (or more accurately, the participation units) of the third large Israeli partner in the Tamar and Dalit gas fields, Isramco Ltd. (Nasdaq: ISRL; TASE: ISRA.L), will enter the Tel Aviv 25 Index.

Isramco, controlled by Jackob Maimon, has a current market cap of NIS 5.32 billion. It will join its partners, Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) subsidiaries Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) and Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L). Altogether, the gas exploration partnerships will have a weight of 5.3 percent of the Tel Aviv 25 Index.

The popularity of the sector will also affect the make-up of the Tel Aviv 75 Index. While Isramco is being promoted to the Tel Aviv 25 Index, Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L), with a market cap of NIS 1.4 billion, will enter the Tel Aviv 75 Index from the Mid-Cap 50 Index.

Isramco's entry to the Tel Aviv 25 Index will oust geothermal energy company Ormat Industries Ltd. (TASE: ORMT), controlled by the Bronicki family. Another probable entry is Azrieli Group Ltd. (TASE: AZRG) following its NIS 500 million private placement on Monday. If not for Azrieli's last minute move, supermarket chain Shufersal Ltd. (TASE:SAE) would have entered the Tel Aviv 25 Index.

As the oil and gas exploration industry gains ground, the insurance industry is losing it. The last insurance company on the Tel Aviv 25 Index, Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services Ltd. (TASE: HARL), controlled by the Hamburger family, will be relegated to the Tel Aviv 75 Index, where it will join its four peers: Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MGDL), Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd. (TASE: CLIS), Menorah Mivtachim Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MORA), and Israel Phoenix Assurance Ltd. (TASE: PHOE1;PHOE5).

Migdal would be on the Tel Aviv 25 Index, if it met the 25 percent public liquidity criterion.

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