Studies, published by this newspaper yesterday, contains the essence of a problem. The title is: "How Bermuda can maintain its intellectual capacity in human resources and remain a global competitor in the international insurance industry?'' The essence is "intellectual capacity'' and "global competitor''. We think that if Bermuda wants to continue as a major offshore destination, and it certainly should, it must understand that these major companies have to be staffed to compete globally and that they require the intellectual capacity of top staff to allow them to do so. If they are prevented by Bermuda's Immigration regulations from competing globally, then their ability to compete from Bermuda will be hampered and they will look to other domiciles which are more flexible and more willing to allow them the top staff they require. It is really very simple. They do not have to be here and if Bermuda makes their operation difficult then they will leave and they will be very welcome in other places. The first wave of these companies came here originally because the Lynden Pindling government in the Bahamas made their existence difficult.

It is a question of business efficiency.

Make no mistake, they can leave and if one or two of the larger companies decided to leave, we think there would be wholesale flight. Then what? Bermuda would be without the jobs these companies have been providing for Bermudians.

Bermuda is unlikely ever to be able to produce a full complement of senior employees of international insurance companies. That would be an unreasonable expectation of any country this small. Yet Bermuda has done remarkably well in educating young Bermudians for good jobs and the insurance industry has played its part by providing both scholarships and training for Bermudians.

This newspaper will probably now be accused of not supporting Bermudians. That is not true. We simply recognise the reality that not everyone is going to the top of the industry but that international companies provide a great many good jobs for Bermudians which the Bermudian professional and commercial sector could never provide. Not all of the jobs are in the international companies themselves because many are in Bermudian companies which supply support for the international companies and those range from cleaning to catering to construction to accounting and law and so on.

The international companies need both care and nurturing because of their great value to Bermuda. Forget for just a moment their direct contributions to the economy and to employment and only consider their huge cash contributions to Bermuda's charities. Today, without the giving pattern of these companies, many of Bermuda's charities would still be back in the days of raising money from bake sales and the people of Bermuda would be without the great contributions made to our welfare by these charities using of international company contributions.