After listening to Premier Jennifer Smith and Finance Minister Eugene Cox speak about Bermuda's attractions, a Dallas businessman said his image of the Island was reinforced as the place where he wanted to focus his efforts in the offshore world.

Ms Smith and Mr. Cox spoke yesterday at a breakfast meeting hosted by the Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA) at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel, held to coincide with the annual Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. conference.

Steve Whitaker of Sawtre Electronics said he has been working on forming a captive for over the past year and has been looking at Bermuda closely. He is interested in the rent-a-captive concept being offered by Bermuda companies as a preliminary project before moving on to forming a full blown captive company.

"I've looked at about 17 other jurisdictions and have found that Bermuda is considered the premier place for this type of business,'' he said. "This breakfast event is very good for someone like myself who is not an industry insider. It's a real struggle to gain knowledge.'' His statements emphasise the importance of BIBA and Government's efforts at marketing the Island at overseas events. Of the 38 people who attended the breakfast, 22 were Dallas-area businessmen.

Dallas-based lawyer David Curtis said much of his business is in estate planning. An increasing number of clients are becoming more and more interested in placing their assets in an offshore trust. He believes Bermuda is one of the better places in which to form an offshore trust. He has been in contact with the Bank of Bermuda, which did not send a representative to RIMS.

"Bermuda has a reputation for being a solid financial community,'' he said.

In her speech yesterday Ms Smith emphasised Bermuda's business friendly approach and said her Government was committed to maintaining a partnership with the international sector.

She noted that Dallas-based EDS, a technology firm, is already setting up to do business in Bermuda -- an indication of the Island's growing sophistication in the world of technology and electronic commerce.

"This remarkable thriving business environment is something that the Government and business continually work on,'' she said. "We have a regulatory partnership that encourages the development of innovative products and services.'' Mr. Cox said Bermuda was pushing forward in the area of electronic commerce and hoped to have draft legislation to foster its growth by June. He said a major workshop on electronic commerce, with a host of international experts, will be held later this month to help Government get a better feel for the sector.

BIBA aimed the Bermuda message at senior finance, banking, accounting, legal and management executives in the area.