Sixty representatives of the new Government, including six Cabinet ministers, yesterday attended a presentation outlining the benefits to Bermuda of its international sector.

The Ministers of Finance, Eugene Cox, and the Environment, Arthur Hodgson were among those attending, along with a number of top-ranked civil servants, including Cabinet Secretary Leo Mills.

The International Companies Division (ICD) of the Chamber of Commerce put on the presentation at the Princess Hotel in Hamilton yesterday morning.

Invitations had been sent out to key members of the government and to top civil servants.

Premier Jennifer Smith had been set to attend, organisers understood, but was diverted at the last moment to important business elsewhere.

Mr. Hodgson, who has spent some time on the marketing committee of the Bermuda International Business Association, said that although much of the information presented was familiar to him, he found "those who spoke very much in tune with what the thinking is on international business'' and was certain that the information presented would be useful to those in attendance.

Three separate presentations on different aspects of international business were made by members of the ICD. The organisation's chairman, David Ezekiel, Peter Everson of Schroders (Bermuda) Ltd. and Michael Butt of Exel Ltd. spoke on aspects of the international business sector. The conference lasted more than an hour and a half.

"We were very pleased with the attendance and the receptive manner in which the material was digested by those attending,'' said Mr. Ezekiel. "There were some good questions during the question and answer session, which told me that people had been paying attention.'' Mr. Ezekiel explained that the ICD had mounted a similar presentation about two years ago and that he now proposed that the Division carry the message into the wider community.

"It is particularly important for those who are not dealing with international business every day of the week to gain a better understanding of the ways in which it affects their lives and the lives of all of us in Bermuda,'' Mr. Ezekiel said.

"We hope that these presentations will sew the seed for those who are the decision-makers to understand the economic environment in which their decisions are made,'' he said.

Commenting after the presentations had concluded, Mr. Mills said: "It is always interesting to hear those who are intimately involved in international business talk about the challenges which face them, and the vision they have in terms of employment, charitable contributions, education and the general impact of their work on the Bermuda community.'' Mr. Mills said that the presentations had been "a very useful exercise.'' Govt. hears presentation from international sector Mr. Ezekiel, who gave the first presentation, focussed on the reasons why international business is attracted to Bermuda, the competition the Island faces from other jurisdictions and the need for Government to understand the needs of the international business industry in its planning.

Among Mr. Ezekiel's topics was a range of statistics showing how the Island benefits from the presence of international business.

For instance, he noted, in 1996 the direct contribution made to the economy by those international companies maintaining a physical presence in Bermuda exceeded $496 million, or 19 percent of the Gross Domestic product of the Bermuda economy.

Mr. Ezekiel also presented information showing that in 1996, without the revenue provided to government by the international business sector, each employed Bermudian would have had to contribute an additional $8,741 to the tax base.

He also pointed out that charitable and scholarship support provided by international business in Bermuda exceeded $9.2 million in 1996 -- enough money that, had the funds not been made available, each employed Bermudian would have had to contribute an additional $342 to maintain the Island's charitable foundations and scholarship programmes.

Mr. Everson then presented an overview of the growth in the financial services sector in Bermuda in the past ten years. He also addressed the introduction of trusts into the local economy and the effect they had achieved on the economy since the Trustee Act of 1991 allowed foreign trust companies to open for business in Bermuda.

The final presentation to the group was given by Michael Butt, vice chairman of the ICD, whose topic was insurance and reinsurance in Bermuda. In summary, Mr. Butt covered "who we are, what we do, where we do it, how we do it, what we need and why we succeed.'' He emphasised the importance to all international companies of hiring Bermudian staff, and presented some key figures on the impact the insurance and reinsurance sector has on the Bermudian economy.

The session closed with questions and answers and a short speech of thanks from Finance Minister Eugene Cox, who commended the ICD "on this important and useful initiative''.

Eugene Cox Arthur Hodgson