digital fibre optic cable systems. It is also planning to strengthen its presence on the Island. Ahmed ElAmin reports International telecommunications company Global Crossing Ltd., which has ambitions of becoming a world leader, plans to beef up substantially its presence on the Island.

The company plans to base its operations, administration and maintenance support centres in Bermuda according to an initial public offering document filed on July 23 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Many companies registered in Bermuda to escape taxes in other jurisdictions usually have a minimal if any presence on the Island except for a name plaque at the offices of a law firm or other similar agent.

But Global Crossing's SEC document reveals the company plans to make Bermuda the centre piece of its operations.

The company currently has employees at Wessex House, a recently completed office building on Reid Street at the corner of Parliament Street. A spokesman refused to comment on how many employees were here, citing advice from lawyers who have said the company must not comment further than what is in the SEC document until the public offering was over.

The SEC document reveals the company is paying lease of about $8,800 a month for its office space. The company has put a number of ads in The Royal Gazette over the course of the past month for telecommunications employees. In addition to listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange the company plans to make a secondary listing on the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

Global Crossing's backers are betting billions of dollars on the future of international telecommunications growth. The company is laying a worldwide network of digital fibre optic cable systems -- including a link through Bermuda -- so as to sell capacity to international telecommunications companies.

The company's founding shareholders are selling 21 million shares -- valued at between $17 and $19 a share -- to make Global Crossing public. At $17 a share, the founders will get about $357 million before fees. Since the 21 million shares represent about 10.41 percent of the company, the owners value Global Crossing at about $3.43 billion on the market.

The company began operations in March 1997 to take advantage of the new trend toward deregulation and open competition. Instead of having to invest heavily in building their own networks the new telecommunications companies will have the option of buying capacity from Global Crossing.

The company expects international voice traffic to increase at about 13 percent a year annually. International data traffic -- especially through the Internet and Internet-type applications -- is expected to explode, outpacing the growth of voice, the company said. "The company operates as a `carriers' carrier', providing tiered pricing and segmented products to licensed providers of interntional Internet and telecommunications services,'' the SEC document states. Earlier this year, Global Crossing began transmitting traffic through its Atlantic Crossing undersea line between the US and Europe. The company is in the process of building the Pacific Crossing, a link between the US and Japan, and Mid-Atlantic Crossing, a link between New York, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Panama and Florida. Another link will connect California, Mexico and Panama.

Global Crossing is also in talks with Bermuda's long distance telecommunications provider TeleBermuda International Ltd., renamed as GlobeNet Communications over a possible link up of systems for its Mid-Atlantic Crossing.

Global Crossing plans on buying the company's newly constructed fibre optic link from Bermuda to the US. The deal will be made in exchange for cash and capacity on the Atlantic Crossing cable, due to be in service in late 1999.

Global Crossing also has offices in Los Angeles, Morristown, New Jersey San Francisco and London. Recently, the company advertised in local newspapers for a director of contract administration, a director of sales support, a manager of information technology, a creative director and a corporate administrator to manage its Bermuda companies. The company plans on locating its worldwide customer care centre, network operations centre, and technical support centre in Bermuda to deal with its clients -- telecommunications companies. The network centre will handle all operations, administrative and maintenance activities for the company's cable systems.

Global Crossing's competitors are the big names in the business, including British Telecom, AT&T, France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, MCI, WorldCom, and Cable & Wireless.

The company's accountant is the local offices of Arthur Anderson & Co. Its Bermuda lawyers are Appleby, Spurling & Kempe.

Co-chairman Gary Winnick, who is listed as having being in the investment and merchant banking business since 1985, founded the company and holds a 27 percent stake.

CIBC Oppenheimer, an affiliate of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, currently holds another 25 percent company. CIBC has provided financing for much of the company's activities. US-based Continental Casualty Co. holds another ten percent.

Ian McLean, the company's vice president, and chief financial officer of its Atlantic Crossing subsidiary, was deputy manager of corporate trust at the Bank of Bermuda until 1992 and chief financial officer at Price Waterhouse Bermuda from 1994 to 1997. Global Crossing has 20 carriers as customers on its Atlantic Crossing network.