to British Airways' first class cabin magazine.

A series of articles, enthusing about Bermuda's pre-eminence as an offshore centre, appeared in the latest edition of "First'' magazine, subtitled "Forum for Decision Makers''.

The issue also features articles by former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, British Secretary of State for Health Mrs. Virginia Bottomley, and the Secretary of State for Scotland Mr. Ian Lang.

Bermuda is described by Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan, Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul, Mr. James Masters, senior vice president and general manager of corporate banking at the Bank of Bermuda, and other high profile figures in local business and tourism.

The articles are introduced by a synopsis of Bermuda politics and economics, written by a UK-based international consultancy firm called Oxford Analytica.

"Bermuda politics are characterised by close relations with the business sector,'' the consultancy said in the magazine. "The UBP's consistent electoral strength derives from its pro-business stance, and claim to economic policy competence. Many of its MPs and ministers are business executives or partners.

"In recent years, the PLP has stressed a commitment to protecting Bermuda's crucial offshore financial services sector and has attracted some professionals as candidates.'' It describes how the offshore sector in Bermuda has grown, stating that "the UBP has championed this trend and has appealed to foreign interest by liberalising protectionist and restrictive regulations.'' The Bermuda Stock Exchange is mentioned and described as being "keen to attract foreign company listings, especially the Island's big international insurance and mutual fund companies.'' "Moreover, the Bermuda market aims to attract some of the fallout from Hong Kong in 1997,'' the consultancy wrote.

They also picked up on the prevalence of illegal drug use and dealing in Bermuda, which is described as "becoming a prominent social problem.'' Dr. Saul's article provides an outline of the provisions of the Insurance Act 1978, and describes the growing financial services sector, particularly trust business, and the offshore mutual funds industry.

Mr. Masters, in his article about the Island's banking and offshore financial services, describes how Bermuda's banks have traditionally provided the bulk of the services to the offshore sector.

"Bermuda, like other offshore centres, has responded to the market's needs by creating structures to hold transferred assets. The management of these structures' assets -- as compared with the servicing of the structures -- has traditionally taken place onshore.

"However, in Bermuda, there has been an increasing commitment to marshalling the skills necessary to allow the management of the assets -- particularly if they are securities -- to take place on the Island,'' Mr. Masters said in the article.

Mr. Ken Morgan, senior manager (trusts) at the Bank of Butterfield, describes Bermuda as a "business paradise'' in his article about the trusts sector in Bermuda, and how after the passage of the Trust Company Act 1991, a controlled growth of the trust business is resulting.

Mr. Roger Gillett, senior vice president of Johnson & Higgins (Bermuda), provides a colourful depiction of a lunchtime scene at a local restaurant in Bermuda's "busy financial district,'' where high profile insurance and reinsurance transactions and investment discussions are taking place.

He describes the arrival of the new reinsurers last year. He attributes this growth to the "working partnership between an aggressive industry and a forward-thinking government,'' and the Island's sophisticated infrastructure.

He recalls the contribution of the captive insurance sector, and the liability insurers, such as ACE and XL, which have been the precursor to future developments in the insurance industry.

"Bermuda has achieved success the hard way -- by earning it.''