a reform committee for Bermuda's insolvency laws, she told a gathering of global insolvency "movers and shakers''.

She made the remarks in an address to the INSOL Bermuda Conference of the Americas which is due to end today at the Marriott Castle Harbour.

On Wednesday night the Bermuda chairperson of the conference, Dianna Kempe, welcomed Ms Smith to the official opening of the meeting on insolvency and restructuring.

Ms Kempe -- the managing partner of Appleby Spurling & Kempe -- told The Royal Gazette the conference bought accountants, lawyers, academics, finance industry professionals and judges from more than 23 countries to Bermuda.

The prestigious event which was kicked off by an address from former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger aimed to provide continuing education for the "world insolvency powers'' and assist them in networking, she said.

And this was the first year the "Americas'' conference has been held offshore.

But Ms Kempe said Bermuda was particularly suitable for the event since the vast majority of insolvencies here were "cross-border'' -- a major theme of the conference.

Premier Smith told the group her Government recognised the immense value of international business and wanted to accommodate growth in the sector.

"Indeed one has only to examine the annual reports of most listed companies to discover in the notes or the list of subsidiaries that there are affiliates in Bermuda,'' she said.

"They are here to take advantage of the facilities offered by Bermuda as an international financial centre.'' There were more than 11,000 international companies registered in Bermuda with about 330 of those having a physical presence here.

But she said it was just important to local authorities that if one of the companies should go bust, the liquidation services provided should be as "competent and professional'' as services available to operating companies.

"We recognise that many of the creditors of an international company in Bermuda, if not nearly all, will be creditors from other jurisdictions and we wish those creditors to be assured that their rights will be respected.'' She said to ensure such sound liquidation services were available here meant the Island's insolvency laws had to be "constantly reviewed and amended where appropriate to ensure that Bermuda is providing competitive services''.

"In addition, Bermuda attempts to find methods within insolvency law to ensure that insolvencies are not protracted any longer than necessary thereby ensuring that the creditors get the best value from the assets.

"You will be pleased to learn that one of the first decisions taken by my government was to authorise the chairman of the Law Reform Committee to set up a law reform subcommittee on Bermuda's insolvency law.'' Chiefs of the Bank of Bermuda, the Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son, Arthur Andersen, KPMG Peat Marwick, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Conyers Dill & Pearman and Milligan-Whyte & Smith serve on that committee.

Premier Jennifer Smith