Israeli Ambassador to China Amos Nadai (2nd R, standing), Shenzhen Vice Mayor Chen Yingchun (2nd L, standing) witness representatives from Shenzhen Yifang and Israel's Pegasus sign an acquisition agreement in Shenzhen on Thursday.

SHENZHEN Yifang Digital Technology Co. Ltd. on Thursday signed an agreement to acquire Pegasus, a big player in Israel's IT industry with 57 international patents in the field.

Yifang is the first Chinese firm with an Israeli acquisition in the high-tech industry and Thursday's signing ceremony saw the presence of Amos Nadai, Israeli ambassador to China, Avraham Nir, Israeli consul general in Guangzhou and Chen Yingchun, the city's vice mayor.

The acquisition will enable Shenzhen to have a research and development center in Israel.

"We feel proud to be a part of Shenzhen's innovation. Yifang can also build a bridge between Chinese and Israelis," president of Pegasus, Yoav Keldar, said at a ceremony.

Yifang leads the country in producing consumer electronic products, selling 90 percent of its products to overseas markets.

"We had cooperated with Pegasus for six years before this deal and we will together develop applied research, which is expected to lay a foundation for Yifang's globalization strategy," said Wang Bin, Yifang's president.

"This year marks the 18th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Israel. This agreement is historically meaningful," Chen said.

"Both Chinese and Israelis are very innovative and share values concerning family, resilience and respect for hard work," said Nadai.

Israel is one of the world's foremost innovation centers, developing telecommunication, electronics, biotechnology, water treatment and new energy technologies. Hundreds of international IT enterprises have set up their R&D centers in the country, including Intel, Microsoft, Motorola and HP.

Source:Shenzhen Daily