Bermuda is seeking to attract new business that will create jobs and help to boost the economy.That was the one of the main purposes of the Business Bermuda Annual New York Financial Services Conference held yesterday at the Harvard Club of New York where Premier and Finance Minister Paula Cox was the keynote speaker at a luncheon session introduced by the Governor Sir Richard Gozney.The Premier, who was speaking on the issue of Bermuda being open for business, confirmed in an interview with The Royal Gazette that prior to her trip she had been talking to a businessman who had flown in to meet her and was looking to set up a new Class 4 property and casualty re/insurance company before the end of this year which would hire a number of people over the next two to three years.The man, she said, cited the Island’s stability, sound infrastructure, established market and credibility as the reasons why he was keen to bring his business to Bermuda.At the event, which was attended by more than 300 business executives, Ms Cox said there were a lot of questions from interested parties about what was happening in Bermuda and the country’s social dynamic and goals being met, as well as exploring issues such as furthering its Islamic financing capabilities.“We have to create and maximise opportunities for Bermudians,” she said.She said that there was also an emphasis on the substance behind the Island as a top place to do business in terms of its role as the vice-chair of the steering committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Global Forum and the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s (BMA) work to gaining Solvency II equivalence.Dennis Watson, chairman of the National Youth and Gang Violence Task Force, was also there to lend his support to Government in getting the word out about Bermuda’s business model.Mr Watson said that the message was that the Island was receptive to new business but that any deals had to be done above board and there had to be a social commitment to furthering the job market and it had proven itself by consistently producing a strong product that ranked among the best in the world.The Premier was joined by Tourism and Business Development Minister Patrice Minors, Cheryl Packwood, CEO of Business Bermuda, Jeremy Cox, CEO of the BMA, and, Gregory Wojciechowski, CEO of the Bermuda Stock Exchange, as well as the rank and file of high-level government officials, regulators and executives from the financial services and re/insurance sectors, asset managers, lawyers, accountants and other service providers.Ms Minors was on a panel with Malcolm Butterfield, chairman of the Tourism Board, and Marsh & McLennan CEO Brian Duperreault for a discussion on the industry and potential development opportunities.The conference kicked-off with two concurrent panel sessions on re/insurance and asset management, both under the theme, “Open for Business”. One panel featured David Cash, CEO of Endurance and chairman of Business Bermuda, Susan Patschak, CEO of Canopius Bermuda, and Jonathan Kim, senior vice-president and general counsel of Montpelier Re. On the other panel were Andrew Baron of Butterfield Bank, Sally-Anne Baron of Timber Capital, and Craig Bodenstab of Orbis Funds.The morning concluded with a plenary session on offshore business and Bermuda moderated by Assistant Financial Secretary Pamela Burrows, including the release of a study on the economic relationship between Bermuda and the US conducted by Dr Charles Ludolph, a senior economist and the former deputy assistant secretary of commerce for the US.Additional panel sessions were held in the afternoon covering everything from trusts, the convergence of hedge funds and reinsurance, private wealth and infrastructure to aircraft and shipping registry, hotel development and tourism, the capital markets and the legal and licensing requirements for doing business in Bermuda.Ms Packwood said: “This was a great day for Bermuda and we made tremendous progress in delivering the message that Bermuda is ‘open for business’. We are pleased to have so much support from the government, regulators and from our business community, but also excited about the interest from the New York financial services community. We are confident that there are meaningful business opportunities that have resulted from this event.”