Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon on Sunday expressed concern over weak economic growth so far in 2015 and said he would act to bolster flagging industrial output. Second-quarter growth was an annualised 0.3 percent, the government said last week in its preliminary estimate, well below expectations of 2.7 percent.
That came after a slower-than-expected 2 percent in the first quarter.
"The figures that indicate a decline in growth worry me," Kahlon said at a meeting with the heads of Israel's Manufacturers' Association and Export Institute.
"I intend to act to strengthen and develop industry in Israel and to facilitate the industrialists in areas where regulation makes it tough," he said without elaborating.
Kahlon said he would form a committee with Manufacturers' Association President Shraga Brosh to come up with a plan to strengthen the industrial sector.
In the April-June period, exports and investment in fixed assets continued to fall while growth in private spending slowed sharply.
"The main reason for the slowdown in recent years is weakening industrial exports," Brosh said, noting there had been a drop in the construction of new plants.
"We must take care of strengthening the competitiveness of Israel's industry and boosting productivity ... and reduce the burden of regulation and bureaucracy to encourage new investment," he said.
Growth was hit last summer by the Gaza war and was expected to quickly bounce back, but has yet to do so.
The ministry and Bank of Israel projected economic growth of around 3 percent this year although some economists have started to trim their estimates to close to 2.5 percent.
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