"As is the case with most countries in the Middle East, Israel rarely comes up in discussions of global 'safe havens', notes John Christy.

The editor of The Forbes International Investment Report explains, "But so far this year, Israel has been a pretty good place to hide from Wall Street's woes." Here he looks at one Israeli favorite, Cellcom Israel (NYSE: CEL).

"Putting stereotypes about risk aside, Israel offers a lot of interesting opportunities, even for fairly conservative investors. Cellcom Israel is a prime example. The company is Israel's largest mobile phone service provider, with sales of $1.6 billion in 2007.

"Since February 2007, the company has had a dual listing on both the New York and Tel Aviv stock exchanges. Discount Investment Corp. Ltd., one of Israel's largest business groups, owns just over 50% of the company.

"With 3.1 million subscribers, Cellcom has a 34% share of Israel's mobile telecom services market. Roughly three-quarters of Cellcom's subscribers are individuals, and the remaining 25% are corporate customers.

Continue reading Shalom: Forbes expert calls on Cellcom Israel (CEL)

Shalom: Forbes expert calls on Cellcom Israel (CEL) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.