This week, I attended an economic briefing at UBS. The Swiss banking giant is predicting global growth in 2009 at a miserly 0.2%.

This is what many see happening in Israel – although that is a giant positive mark when compared to several other Western economies.

Don’t get me wrong. The Israeli economic press is full of depressing reading. This week, the Tel Aviv Stock Market matched the loses in Europe and on Wall Street. High tech lay offs continue in quantity. The local bank news is still edgy.

And yet. And yet. There is still gold in dem Judean hills.

I am associated with a start up that has embedded a software on a smart card with a UBS application – enhanced content data management. It recently raised approx US$1m, with sales commencing in Spring 09. Another client’s software has made significant sales in the UK this quarter, despite the dire economy in Britain.

These are not isolated stories. the latest bulleting from Israel’s Investment Promotion Centre is extremely positive.

• FDI in 2008 hit US$10 billion
• Since December 2008, 3 Israeli medical device companies have been bought out for a combined value of over US1 billion.
• GAP, Banana Republic and H&M will begin to open outlets in Israel over the next 12 months.
• Solel, BrightSource Energy and other cleantech companies are striking large deals in Spain, California and elsewhere.

The UBS representative noted that the clever people are those who plan carefully at the end of a recession. 2009 will not be pretty. But for Israel there will still be several bright spots worth tagging. early on.