The Australian-born owner of the global media empire News Corporation listed a holding company called Karlholt on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) last October.

It would appear that the Murdoch family chose Bermuda as a home for their money in order to avoid paying an estimated US$41 million in Australian stamp duty, according to a report in Britain's newspaper this week.

And the intention was clearly not to attract investors. The company issued just ten shares, valued at around $700 million each.

The president and chief executive officer of the BSX, Greg Wojciechowski, hailed the Murdoch investment as "great for Bermuda".

"This is a great transaction for Bermuda and for the Bermuda Stock Exchange," Mr. Wojciechowski said yesterday. "It's further evidence of blue chip global players taking us to a higher level in the international arena.

"It says that we are being successful in what we are trying to achieve and striking the right balance."

The BSX's capital market mechanism was proving attractive to Bermuda retail investors and international, institutional investors alike, he added.

Mr. Wojciechowski said one of the "key drivers" that had persuaded the Murdochs to invest here was the BSX's membership of the World Federation of Exchanges.

That affiliation meant that, under Australian law, the Murdochs were exempt from paying the 0.6 per cent stamp duty on share transfers out of the country.

News Corporation, which is controlled by the Murdoch family, last year changed its domicile from Australia to the US.

Based on the latest valuation of News Corporation, the Murdochs' transfer of their 13 per cent stake to Bermuda would have saved them around $41 million in stamp duty.

The Karlholt prospectus, issued in Bermuda, says the float could have "favourable consequences for the company's shareholders under Australian stamp duty legislation".

The prospectus adds: "The listing of the company will also provide access to an efficient facility for executing any future transactions in the company."

Mr. Wojciechowski said the geographical proximity of Bermuda to News Corporation's new US domicile might also have been an attraction to Karlholt.

The switch involved changing the name of the company holding the Murdoch family's assets from Kayarem to Karlholt. Karlholt's name is strikingly similar to Carholt, a new company that forms part of News Corp US, the media company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange.

The listing of Karlholt on the BSX last October came the month before News Corporation completed its re-incorporation in the US.

Mr. Wojciechowski said the Karlholt listing was announced at the time through normal channels. But it was only this week that the international press, firstly in Australia and then in the UK, picked up on who was behind the company.

As well as prominent newspapers, such as London's , the News Corporation empire also includes Fox Entertainment, owner of the Fox TV network and the 20th Century Fox movie studio.