By Mairi Mallon Bermuda's Government is perceived as a "threat'' to captive owners, according to a leading international trade magazine which compares Bermuda to the Bahamas where there was an en masse exodus of captives due to a change in regulations.

The publication, Captive Insurance Company Reports, said that the cost of immigration and work permits would impact on local captives. And the strongly worded piece branded the Bermudianisation of the work force "anti-business measures'' and stated that people in the private sector had been in talks with Government for months but "to little avail''.

The article reads: "In the late 1960s and 70s Bermuda had riots and civil unrest. The new threat seems to be coming from the people's Government itself.

"The immigration and work permit costs could affect every Bermuda captive owner in the form of higher costs and more turnover in account handlers.'' The article is on page 7 of the monthly publication which is sent around the world and published by the International Risk Management Institute Inc based in Dallas, Texas. It is widely read in captive and reinsurance markets globally.

The article starts by saying that the big concern in Bermuda is the gathering clouds concerning immigration.

"The Bermudians first'' emphasis of the new People's Labour Party sic (PLP) Government is leading to proposals to further restrict new work permits for expatriates, limit the length of stay to six years, and increase their costs each year to discourage lengthy stays.

"PLP is instituting a kind of affirmative action programme starting with a survey of every business called CURE (Commission for Unity and Racial Equality) and stiffer requirements for Bermudian `understudies' to be trained for all expatriate positions.'' The article went on to state that the burden of training and work permits' additional costs "will fall heaviest on the accounting and captive management firms''.

It continued: "The daily papers constantly refer to the `progress' being made to implement these anti-business measures. Influential people in the private sector we talked to refer to the extraordinary amount of time they have spent in discussions with Government representatives in the last six months, to little avail.'' In a section entitled `CICR opinion' the writer states: "Increased costs should be the topic of discussion with managers and other Bermudian service providers. The situation brings to mind the story of why all the known captives left the Bahamas for Bermuda. To simplify, they left Bahamas because of proposed tax and regulation increases, and they left en-masse .'' On a brighter note the magazine praised the magazine "Bermuda Business Visitor'' which was published last month by Bermuda Marketing Ltd and edited by Charles Barclay. In an article entitled "Really good reading'', the captive magazine welcomes the informative free magazine.

It states the magazine " ...includes extra articles speaking frankly about Bermuda issues like the decline in tourism caused by high costs.'' On the new Government, it states: "Saddled with the high cost of a large civil service, the system helps keep Bermuda the expensive place that it is.'' And continues: "This publication, with almost everything a business visitor needs to know, is head and shoulders above similar publications in other domiciles and ought to become the level of excellence to which it aspires.'' Everything the business visitor needs: The Bermuda Business Visitor magazine was given high praise in the latest edition of Captive Insurance Company Reports. But the international publication said that the PLP Government seems to be a `threat' and that captives would face cost hikes due to immigration and work permit costs. It also compared Bermuda to the Bahamas, from where there was a mass exodus of captives a decade ago because of a new government introducing new regulations.

BUINESS BUC