in it losing its designated territory status has been dismissed by local officials. The report was made in the March edition of Portfolio International, billed as the "professional's guide to investment worldwide''.

But a Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) official and Minister of Finance the Hon. David Saul were quick to discount the published report as baseless.

The article, headlined: "Bermuda: new threat to designated status'', offered no legal basis for the threat.

Designated territory status was granted by the UK Government to allow Bermuda almost unfettered access to British investors for the purpose of marketing collective investment schemes, also known as mutual funds or unit trusts.

Dr. Saul said yesterday the UK Government grants designated territory status based on a country's legislative protection for investors.

He said: "They would look entirely at your legislation, not your constitutional position.'' Meanwhile, BMA officials yesterday were in touch with the UK Treasury in London after a copy of the publication turned up in their office.

But even before that call was placed, deputy general manager of the BMA, Mrs.

Marcia Allwood, said: "A jurisdiction must have equivalent legislation and supervision in order to be able to get into the UK market. So we are not being treated any better than any other country that would want to market their products in London. It's not linked with status as a dependent territory.'' Locally registered schemes dealing in the UK market number fewer than 20, Mrs.

Allwood said.

UK Treasury officials were recently in Bermuda conducting a designated territory review as a result of changes in UK regulations. They visited a number of offshore countries to ensure their laws were being amended to keep abreast of the British changes.

After placing a call to London, Mrs. Allwood later said that UK Treasury officials were equally perplexed by the origin of the article. She said they confirmed that the article's claim was not true.

She said: "Where all of this is coming from, certainly the Treasury department had no idea. We will be taking steps to contact the author of that article and set them straight on what he's written.'' The article further reported a Green Paper on Independence was being discussed and the Referendum Bill had been tabled in the legislature. "But the pressure is mounting,'' it said, "on the Island for the question of independence to be put to the 60,000 strong population.

"Factions within the ruling United Bermuda Party have pushed for some time for the issue to be addressed by the Island's legislature while the main opposition Progressive Labour Party has also signalled support for "putting it to the people'', the story said.

"A recent poll returned a healthy majority in favour of Bermuda retaining its dependent territory status, although there was significant support for a referendum.

"Such a referendum -- and the divisions it could create on the Island -- may also jeopardise Bermuda's image as a stable haven, some in the financial services community believe.''