Overseas investors have great interest in putting their money into Bermuda, Finance Minister Bob Richards told an audience of accountants yesterday.Speaking at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess at the Institute of Chartered Accountants annual general meeting, he said: “In the short time we have been in Government we see there is great interest in Bermuda as a place to invest.”There was interest in Bermuda before the One Bermuda Alliance gained power, he said. “We had a lot of people interested before we came into Government, but they got frustrated.“We want to welcome them, not frustrate them.”The Finance Minister told the audience: “This Government is determined to remove impediments to investments,” and added: “In Bermuda, we have been so good at building up barriers that no one can climb them — we have to lower these barriers. A lot of it is red tape — we have rules coming out of our ears. Investors — we are telling them, ‘you can’t do this, you can’t do that’. We are working hard to get rid of barriers to entry for investing in Bermuda.”He explained: “The key, and the way we get there, is to make ourselves attractive to investors in Bermuda.”Mr Richards said the Government are looking for that direct investment. “People who want to build a new hotel, people who want to provide an alternative energy resource, people who want to set up an office in Bermuda.”That investment can only come from foreign sources. “We can’t rely on the local banks to lend us any more money. They are not going to do that. We need new capital from overseas,” he said.“There is no country in the history of man that has experienced growth by an increase in tax rates. It comes back to direct investment — investment in this country into infrastructure and tourism; we can grow jobs and grow this economy that way.“This country is 100 percent dependant on foreign investment. Hotel structures are built by foreign capital. We have always lived on investment from abroad. That has dried up and we have to turn on that tap.”Bermuda’s economic situation is also a result of a declining population, the Finance Minister explained.“A change in the Gross Domestic Product equals a change in the population plus a change in productivity. It’s an easy equation to remember. It implies if you have a declining population, it is really hard to increase economic growth. Bermuda has had a declining population in the last five years,” dropping by 5,000 from a population of 65,000, he explained. “And they are folks who have been integral to earning foreign exchange for the island,” he said.“Obviously, our term limits policy was having an impact on the change in population — the part of the population that was earning us foreign exchange and jobs.“The Bermuda First study showed that for every two expatriate jobs, three Bermudian jobs are created. So if we chase away expatriates, then we are putting Bermudians out of work.”Mr Richards also addressed the Government deficit in his presentation, and said it can be reduced either by raising revenue with taxes, or by cutting expenditure by reducing the Civil Service. “Neither is attractive,” and explained that reducing the size of Civil Service is difficult because those workers cannot go elsewhere to find alternate employment, as they would be able to do if they were in the UK or the US.“We have to move very carefully when it comes to the size of the Civil Service.”Inefficiencies and waste in the public sector are being investigated by the Sage Commission, which he described as “key to looking into the questions of efficiency”. He said the remit of the Commission is to streamline the Civil Service.“Government is committed to doing what they recommend. Government is committed to making changes. We are in a frame of mind where we know significant changes need to be made.”The Finance Minister said he has also appointed an ad hoc public debt management advisory group.“We have found that Bermudians really want to help, to turn things around. People give of their time and talent for free — it is a wonderful thing. Everyone is working together.“This is a four-year recession. This year I have no expectations of growth, and if we stay even I’ll be happy. It will take all our time and efforts to turn this thing around, and,” speaking to the audience of accountants, said: “with your ideas and talents I think we can do it.”