Global economy to improve in H2: poll

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - More than half of venture capital executives in Israel believe the global economy will improve in the second half of the year, a quarterly survey by the local branch of financial consultancy firm Deloitte showed on Sunday.

Some 53 percent of Israeli VC partners and managers in the June Deloitte Brighttman Almagor poll said the economy would improve in the second half of 2009 while 47 percent believe the economy would stay the same, but not worsen.

In the prior five surveys, an average of 70 percent of VC executives had expected the economy to deteriorate further.

The poll also showed that 46 percent expect share offerings on Nasdaq to restart by the end of 2009 or early 2010. Another 38 percent believe it will take until late in 2010 while 7 percent expect offerings to begin again in early 2011.

At the same time, 41 percent believe the market for mergers and acquisitions will recover later this year versus 36 percent who expect a recovery in early 2010.

Israel's economy has slid into a recession due to a slump in exports stemming from a global downturn. It is expected to contract by 1.5 percent this year and show modest growth in 2010.

Last week, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said the worst of the global crisis was over and that most economies could return to growth by the end of 2009. (Reporting by Steven Scheer)