The Australian Security Exchange’s campaign to attract...

The Australian Security Exchange’s campaign to attract international companies is starting pay dividends, and most of the rewards are coming from Israel.

The nation is an emerging IT player and venture-capital hub and its companies are increasingly looking to fund growth with offshore capital.

Thirteen companies have listed on the ASX in the past few years as part of the exchange’s so called “Three Island” strategy.

Nine of those thirteen occurred in the past year, meaning the rate of Israeli floats has certainly stepped up. Most have been through backdoor listings but the rate of IPOs is also on the rise.

Under the plan, driven by the ASX listings general manager Max Cunningham, companies from Israel, Ireland and Singapore have been on the radar.

Two companies — Mobilicom and G Medical — are ready to turn public, potentially in the next few weeks

Similarly CyberGym, a cyber security and government defence IT provider which is chaired by Australia’s former ambassador to China Geoff Raby, is also doing the rounds, shaking the tin on a roadshow.

The number of Israeli companies turning to Australia has taken regulators by surprise and agencies have been keen to ensure the groups are aware of the local listing rules.

ASX officials will lead a tour of Australian brokers and lawyers to Israel in the next few months to discover more potential listings.

A number of Australian bankers and lawyers have won work out of the Israeli rush to the market. ASX data shows that Tolhurst, Henslow, Paterson and the smaller firms of Armada, Otsana and Trident Capital have provided corporate advisory. On the legal side, Baker & McKenzie is the stand-out name but Perth firm Steinepreis has picked up the majority of the work.

Medical cannabis listings from Israel are becoming popular with three stocks in the sector — MMJ Phytotech, MGC Pharmaceuticals and Creso Pharma — listing recently.

Creso will resume trading today after carrying out a small capital raising last week and MMY and MGC both had cracking days on Friday, with the stocks rising 5 and 10 per cent in the stronger market.

In an interesting announcement on Friday, MGC said it had raised $10m through a share placement at 6.5c. A small part of that raising, nearly $50,000, was used to pay a public relations firm Media and Capital Partners.

The company said the shares were “in lieu” of a cash payment for work carried out by the firm last year. The contact on the ASX was Ben Grubb, the former technology editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. The agency employs a number of former Labor staffers and former NSW premier Morris Iemma sits on its board.

The Media and Capital Partners website says it is a boutique investment and media relations firm, but a PR outfit taking an equity stake in a company instead of being paid is an interesting move.

Meanwhile, in other capital raisings former UBS banker Steuart Rowe’s Registry Direct is hitting up potential shareholders to raise $8m and list on the public markets.

It’s estimated about $2m could be raised ahead of the IPO, which is being handled by Sequioa Finance.

The Melbourne-based Registry Direct is marketing itself as a online share registry similar to the larger more established companies like Computershare and Link Market Services.

However, in a bid to differentiate itself, Registry Direct says it focuses on listed companies and fund managers working with their unit registers.

Rowe, who also worked at Citigroup, said Registry Direct used software-as-a-solution technology to maintain registries and distribute reports, and shareholders have online access.

The business says it has 50 clients using its software and technology, including savings app operator Acorns Australia.

Registry Direct is chaired by Don McLay who also heads Credit Corp.