The head of the Bermuda Stock Exchange views an article about Bermuda in The Financial Times last week in a positive light despite a somewhat negative light cast on the Island?s reputation.

?Bermuda Crafts a Charm Offensive? stems from the BSX?s recent recognition as a ?designated investment exchange? from the UK?s Financial Services Authority, however it also ties in a number of other issues for which Bermuda has hit headlines.

When Bermuda-based Tyco International Ltd. became embroiled in scandal in 2002, the Island?s financial community was ?fretting? alongside Tyco chief executive Dennis Kozlowski, the article said.

?As the lurid details of the scandal decorated the pages of the international press, that hardened the widely held perception that some companies were using offshore territories such as Bermuda to shield their activities and profits from the scrutiny of investors and regulators,? the article said.

BSX chief executive officer Greg Wojciechowski said that despite the disparate story lines ? including the Tyco scandal ? woven into the article, ?It calls attention to the work that has been done on the regulatory and exchange front to attract exchange related business here,? he said adding that he is proud of the work that has been done and the people who are committed to developing the Bermuda business infrastructure.

The BSX has launched a ?charm offensive? to ?rehabilitate the Island?s reputation ? and to wipe away the association with past scandals such as Tyco,? the article said.

Jonathan Herbst, a partner in the financial services group at the law firm Norton Rose, told the Times that there are clearly issues in Bermuda as there are in all offshore jurisdictions. He said the Island is trying to deal with the concerns and enhance their credibility at a time when all offshore jurisdictions are trying to get a bigger slice of business.?

The BSX has in fact increased its marketing efforts in light of a recent nod from the UK?s Financial Services Authority which granted the BSX ?designated exchange investment? status. This decision effectively aligns the BSX with the FSA from a regulatory standpoint and signals investors that the BSX offers similar protection as they would receive at a home market.

As for the designation and the bid to attract new issuers, the Times reports that BSX, which touts itself as the world?s largest wholly electronic exchange, is recognised by the US Securities Exchange Commission as a designated offshore securities market, but is bound by neither European Union listing directives nor US Securities and Exchange Commission regulations including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As such, Bermuda-listed companies do not have to apply international financial reporting standards on the generally accepted US accounting principles in financial reports ? ?allowing some of them more accounting flexibility than they would have if they were listed on larger stock markets,? the article said.

Mark Bergman, head of capital markets and securities practice group at the law firm Paul Weiss, told The Times that recent developments in Bermuda ?may well have follow-on effects and other advantages for improving the jurisdiction?s image and it may attract issuers looking for so-called convenience listing.?

Mr. Wojciechowski said that in many cases mutual funds currently go to Dublin or Luxembourg for such listings and since Bermuda has a deep base of indigenous fund business, one of the reasons that the Exchange was founded was to support the fund industry. Each designation the Exchange receives helps prove its mettle, he said.

?It shows that we can withstand international reviews and it is not just at the Exchange level. Over the course of the last couple years, review teams have come down from various different affiliations and organisations that have reviewed the financial services industry,? he told this newspaper. He adds that Bermuda has come out well in every review. Unfortunately for us, we do a lot of hard work to make sure that happens and people want to see the bad. They don?t want to recognise the good and all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes to create a solid product here.?

The Times said however that Bermuda?s ?flexible attitude still raises some eyebrows ? and the territory has other continuing reputation issues with which to contend.?

The ?well-known haven for insurance companies? has featured in US regulators probes into alleged wrongdoing at American International Group,? the article said adding that ?shaking off this type of problem will take more than a public relations drive.?

Mr. Bergman told the Times that companies looking to access the global capital markets, even if organised in Bermuda, are more likely to be looking to list on an exchange in the US or Europe, not in Bermuda.?

Mr. Wojciechowski responded: ?We are developing a stock exchange so we are not at the same level of maturity that London or New York are so we are putting in place what we feel is the right infrastructure operational and regulatory to be able to provide clients that are looking for alternatives a solution in Bermuda.?