A campaign to raise awareness internationally of Bermuda’s efforts in anti-money laundering and antiterrorist financing will be rolled out in the new year.

The Association of Bermuda International Companies is one of the organisations involved in the campaign, which is in preparation for a review by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

That campaign is also part of wider endeavours by Abic, both at home and overseas, to further the understanding of the value proposition of Bermuda’s international business sector.

Patrick Tannock, chairman of Abic, spoke about the organisation’s future plans and its achievements during the past year when he addressed its annual meeting.

Collaboration and communication were the two dominant themes of his speech.

Mr Tannock said Abic had been working with the Bermuda Government’s external affairs strategic steering committee “to develop a shared agenda and collaboration on international regulatory and tax initiatives”.

Also on the committee are representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Bermuda Business Development Agency, and the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers.

“The Committee is focusing on Bermuda’s reputation, the EU tax list scorecard and audit directive, Brexit, beneficial ownership and other issues of significance,” said Mr Tannock.

He told the annual meeting that during the past 12 months Abic had met with the leadership of political parties, unions and public schools to discuss issues and promote an understanding of the needs of the IB.

The organisation also partnered with the BDA in its “Everybody’s Business Campaign”, to take to a wider audience the message about the value of the IB sector to the island.

During the past year Abic has used digital advertising and, in partnerships with Bermemes, produced podcasts about young people working in the sector.

Mr Tannock also said: “Abic supports the relaunching of Bermuda First to develop an economic and social plan for Bermuda. In addition to this, during the year we hosted Martha Dismont, executive director of Family Centre, and Nathan Kowalski, chief financial officer of Anchor Investment Management Ltd, for a discussion regarding the concept of a living wage in Bermuda.”

Abic’s investment in education was highlighted, including meetings with public middle schools to develop and deliver a curriculum to explain IB. This endeavour will be enhanced in 2018.

Abic’s Education Awards have donated more than $615,000 during the past 40 years to support some 600 students, many of whom have gone on to build careers in international business.

“As the founding sponsor of Bermudascholarships.com, Bermuda’s one-stop scholarship website for students and donors, we have fiduciary responsibility for the website. This year we added a feature to advertise summer, entry-level jobs and internships,” said Mr Tannock, who thanked the companies and organisations who have assisted.

He mentioned Abic’s continued support for the Virtual Enterprises International programme, an “interactive teaching and learning tool that introduces students to the world of business across a multidisciplinary agenda”. It was launched at Berkeley Institute in 2016 and has since been extended to CedarBridge Academy.

Looking to the year ahead, Mr Tannock said Abic would continue its efforts to increase the awareness of the value proposition of IB, and build on its efforts with Government, Opposition and unions.

He said the organisation would “continue to strike a balance between infusion and retention of high-quality intellectual capital and commitment to developing local talent to ensure a win/win that will drive innovation and help Bermuda keep its competitive advantage”.

Mr Tannock added that Abic will work with its member companies to develop a strategy of increasing diversity in Bermuda’s IB workforce.