The current state of Bermuda's reinsurance industry and its ability to sustain more growth in the future was the focus of the opening day of the 21st International Reinsurance Congress at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

Steven Beard, CEO of outsourcing company XChanging, and Alex Letts, CEO of trading providers RI3K, talked about the potential problems faced by the Island's reinsurance sector and how companies can collaborate with and maintain a competitive edge over other firms while overcoming the issues of space and resources to keep up its trend of exponential growth.

Among the other subjects up for debate were reinsurance capital formation by hedge funds and other alternative capital arrangements, discussed by Michael Hamer, senior analyst of hedge funds at Albourne Partners Ltd. , CEO of Horseshoe Group, Andre Perez, and Brad Kading, president of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers.

The event kicked-off with an introduction by Andrew Barile, chairman of the meeting and president and CEO of Andrew Barile Consulting Corporation Inc., who gave an insight into the history of the Island's reinsurance industry, including its worldwide insurance solutions, coverages, capacity and capital.

Then it was Minister of Education, Sports and Recreation, Randolph Horton's turn to take to the stage, to speak about the direction in which the country's reinsurance market is going and his hopes for the future.

Today's hot topics include a seminar on 'Emerging new markets - enter the dragon' - which features a look at their future growth potential, regulation and transparency, how the Chinese industry has changed, new companies setting up in China and other countries such as India and Singapore.

For a full report see tomorrow's edition of The Royal Gazette.