New Bank of Bermuda president, Mr. Charles Vaughn-Johnson, said the Bank has applied to the Minister of Finance in Mauritius to set up a company that could take advantage of the current flow of investments into the international mutual fund industry, by providing services to mutual funds.

There has been an increasing amount of trade across the Indian Ocean and the mutual funds in that country need global custodians to provide services to them.

He said: "That increase in trade across the Indian Ocean is part of a pattern. It could be an interesting platform for the bank.

"All of this is still in the pipeline, because the application is still pending. There is very little that we can say about it right now, because we wouldn't want to pre-empt any decision by the Mauritius government.'' The bank is one of the front runners in an attempt to capitalise on such business. Mr. Vaughn-Johnson said: "There are not very many people in this business. Yes, we would be ahead of the game.'' The unique relationship between Mauritius and India comes as a result of a tax treaty negotiated between the two countries. Mauritius also has a treaty with China.

The trust company would be the latest in a series of moves by the bank in recent years to expand, stretching its dynamic influence globally. The bank already has offices or subsidiaries in London, New York, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Guernsey, Isle of Man and the Cayman Islands.

The new bank chief first indicated the interest in Mauritius, while speaking during an informal "meet the press session'', on his first day on the job after replacing Mr. Donald Lines.