Coral Capital Ltd. is the latest company to join Bermuda's electronic commerce bandwagon that's attempting to take the Island into the new era of doing business over the Internet.

The Royal Gazette has learned that the founders of Coral Capital are Peter Durhager, president of Internet provider Logic Communications Ltd. and Juan Prado, Jr., the son of Juan Prado, Sr. who is described as a large stockholder in Bacardi International.

Coral Capital's private electronic commerce act was recently passed by Parliament. Electronic commerce acts were also passed for the World E-Commerce Exchange and First Atlantic Commerce Ltd.

Coral Capital joins Island's e-commerce bandwagon Other startups include eBS Ltd. and Earthport.com.

In an interview Mr. Durhager said it was "premature'' to release details about Coral Capital's plans. He said Coral Capital was in the business of process electronic transactions and completing administrative work for companies on the Internet.

Coral Capital is already in operation processing business to consumer transactions but would soon move into process business to business transactions, he said.

Mr. Durhager said he will not be leaving his position at Logic, a sister company to the Bermuda Telephone Co. Ltd. Logic was a "strategic partner'' and service provider to Coral Capital and will be working closely with the company. Mr. Prado, who is an investor in Coral Capital, was described as working "full-time'' on establishing the company. Mr. Prado has been involved with Proctor & Gamble and Coca-Cola and had launched some "successful startups'', Mr. Durhager said.

"We are building an important company,'' he said.

Meanwhile spokesmen for the other two startup electronic commerce companies said announcements will be made soon on the progress in establishing operations in Bermuda.

A spokesman for First Atlantic said the private act builds on Bermuda's recently passed Electronic Transactions Act.

The company plans to promote the business at a conference on offshore electronic commerce being held September 15-17 in New York. First Atlantic is the main sponsor of the event. First Atlantic is also in the business of processing transactions for businesses on the Internet.

First Atlantic is a subsidiary of local computer cable networking company CCS Ltd. Steve Cullimore, Greg Vasic and Don Mackenzie are the principals in CCS.

Mr. Mackenzie and Mr. Vasic are the principal owners of car retailer HWP along with Jonathan Brewin.

The World E-Commerce Exchange is being set up by heavweight US investors. Al Checchi, former chairman of Northwest Airlines is the chairman designate of the exchange. Other founding principals include Steven Manolis, the former managing director of Salomon Bros., Science Applications International Corp., law firm Hanson & Molloy, Oven Digital, and local lawyer Lynda Milligan-Whyte.

EarthPort.com was established in September 1997 in the UK and has listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange mezzanine market. The company is described as an Internet transaction portal for clearing multiple online transactions for merchants, including stockbrokers, lotteries and other traders ready to go online.