million in its upcoming initial public offering.

To do this Bermuda's Flag Telecom has increased the number of shares it will offer from 21.1 million to 26.4 million and raised the price of each share from the $20 to $22 zone to between $22 to $24.

Initially the company was looking to raise some $416.8 million through the offering. Now the offering will include an additional 5.3 million shares offered by selling shareholders.

The net proceeds of the offering -- which are estimated at $571.9 million -- will be used to repay debt under a credit facility, to contribute $100 million to affiliate Flag Atlantic Ltd., to fund network expansion, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Major shareholders in Flag Telecom include Bell Atlantic, which will pare its stake to 29.73 percent from 36.99 percent after the offering; Dallah Albaraka Holding Co., which will reduce its stake to 15.48 percent from 20.30 percent, and Telecom Asia Corp., which will lower its interest to 11.29 percent from 16.80 percent.

Flag Telecom, a self-proclaimed telecom "carriers' carrier'' has an established base of 90 customers, many of which are among the world's leading telecom and Internet companies.

Such customers include 17 of the top 20 international carriers based on traffic volume which, together, accounted for 48 percent of Flag Telecom's sales to date. Flag Telecom was formed in February, 1999, to serve as a holding company for a group of companies originally organised in 1993.

PXRE BOARD DECLARES QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND BUC PXRE board declares quarterly cash dividend PXRE Group Ltd. yesterday announced that its Board of Directors had declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $.06 per share. The dividend will be paid on March 9, 2000, to stockholders of record as of February 22, 2000.

PXRE has operations principally in Bermuda, Barbados, the US, the UK, and Europe and provides reinsurance products and services to a worldwide market place. The company primarily emphasises commercial and personal property and casualty reinsurance risks, and it offers both broker-based and direct-writing distribution capabilities. It also provides property insurance products and services.

TOP WOMEN PROFESSIONAL TO SPEAK AT LUNCHEON CON BUC Top women professionals to speak at luncheon Women in International Trade are hosting a lunch tomorrow with guest speakers from two of the accounting world's top female professionals. Jeanne Atherden, from Bank of Bermuda, and Nancy Gosling, president of Gosling Brothers, will join the ranks of trail-blazers like Dame Lois Browne-Evans and Anne Kast in speaking in the series of talks called Women of Influence in Bermuda.

This will be the third in the series which so far has covered the legal profession and investment in hour-long talks a the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in Hamilton. Tickets are still available for the accounting lecture and the talk on insurance to be given by Judy Panchaud-White and Lauren Bell on February 24. Call Jean Wolosiuk on 299 8876.

AMERICAN RESOURCE ANNOUNCES SPECIAL DIVIDEND STK BUC American Resource announces special dividend Bermuda-based American Resource Corporation Limited has announced that it has declared a special dividend to holders of its common and class A shares equal to 0.10484 common shares in the capital of Westfield Minerals Limited for each share held.

American Resource currently holds 9,264,841 common shares of Westfield, which is contemplating a going-private transaction that will result shareholders of Westfield receiving (Canadian dollars) $2.35 per common share. A meeting of Westfield shareholders will be held on February 11, 2000 to approve the going-private transaction.

The dividend will be paid on February 8, 2000 to shareholders of record as at the close of business on February 3, 2000 and shares will be delivered to shareholders shortly thereafter.

In lieu of fractional shares, a cash payment will be made on a pro rata basis based on $2.35 (Canadian) per Westfield common share.

The Westfield common shares received by American Resource shareholders will be eligible to receive the full cash proceeds receivable on the privatisation of Westfield.

BOARD VOTES TO INCREASE QUARTERLY DIVIDEND BUC Board votes to increase quarterly dividend The Board of Directors of Bermuda-based RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. has voted to increase the company's quarterly dividend to $0.375 per share on its common stock, from $0.35 per share.

The dividend is payable on March 2, 2000 to shareholders of record on February 17, 2000. The company has increased its dividend during each of the five years since its initial public offering.

The company also announced the appointment of James MacGinnitie to its Board of Directors. Mr. MacGinnitie has 39 years of experience in the insurance industry having served as a principal of Tillinghast, a partner of Ernst & Young and, until October 1999, as Chief Financial Officer of CNA.

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance.The company's principal product is property catastrophe reinsurance.