offshore international company, said Mid Ocean Re's president and CEO, Mr.

Michael Butt.

"The business advantages of Bermuda are well known,'' he said. "It has a splendid location, being situated close to New York, and the time zone is between Europe and the US.

"Then there is the tax environment here. We can swell our funds here tax free and have a compounded accumulation of funds.

"In addition, there is enough of an infrastructure here, in terms of legal and accounting services and other things, that other islands simply don't have.

"The stable political environment in Bermuda is also important.'' Mr. Butt said the plethora of new insurance companies which have either set up in Bermuda over the last few months or are in the process of doing so was proof of the Island's qualities, even though it provided extra competition for his company.

Since Mid Ocean Re formed in November, plans were announced for five similar companies -- Global Capital Re, Renaissance Re, Tempest Re, Centre CAT and IPC Re, as well as a new excess liability firm, Starr Excess.

"It's good for Bermuda that quality competition is coming into this market,'' said Mr. Butt. "If it helps Bermuda then we are very pleased about that.

"To have investors of the quality that we are seeing come to the Island is obviously very good news for Bermuda.'' He added: "Mid Ocean is very pleased with responsible competition. There's plenty of room in the market for that. The emphasis is on the word responsible.

"Being the first, I think we're very flattered that others obviously think this is such a good idea. It provides confirmation of the business opportunity that exists in this area.'' Mid Ocean Re's management believed that Bermuda would, by the end of the year, be "a very important market in world terms for reinsurance'', said Mr. Butt.

"That will bring a lot of new business to Bermuda and there will be a substantial increase in the number of people who want to come and see us here.

"That will be good for the airlines, hotels, restaurants and many other areas of the local economy.''