Bermuda-based finite risk reinsurer, Centre Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd., has pressed ahead with its interest in Asia, continuing the development of its presence in Hong Kong.

Already the firm has seen a modest flow of Asia-based submissions come to Bermuda through the new office.

Centre Solutions vice president, underwriting, George Hutchings, said their man in Hong Kong is establishing the Hong Kong office and hiring support staff.

Bryan Bowers, formerly of the company's New York office, has now been in Hong Kong for a few months.

Mr. Hutchings said, "His current task right now is to hire a few people.

Where they will come from, right now we don't know. We plan to have a presence in Hong Kong. It will be a representative office, without a balance sheet per se.

"The Bermuda operations will support the underwriting and risk assumption activities of that office. The Bermuda staff will be supporting the marketing efforts that will be undertaken by the Hong Kong office.

"The people we will have on the ground there will clearly know how to analyse risk and put together a transaction.

"But the deals will have to be booked on our Bermuda balance sheet. The business will be written here. So the people in Hong Kong will be working with underwriters here to affect transactions.'' Centre Solutions see the Hong Kong office as an important aspect of future business development in Asia.

Said Mr. Hutchings, "It is a lot easier when you are physically there. And we will be seeking opportunities that are consistent with our underwriting focus right now.

"We want to help companies in that region to resolve problems or issues that they may have on their balance sheets with regards to risk. It will be finite risk related transactions for insurance companies, corporations or financial institutions.

"But over the last three or four years, our ability to write slightly more leveraged transactions has increased. It doesn't mean that we are out there writing `cat' limits, but our appetite for risk is slightly larger than it has been in the past.

"The core ingredients of how we look at risks, which is over multiple years using a finite risk mentality, will however, still remain the same.

"The securitisation transactions are also ones that will be pursued if it makes sense in Asia.'' Centre Solutions, as early as last fall, had a plan established to move into Hong Kong using a 24.1 percent stake they were intending to take in one of Asia's largest investment banks outside of Japan, Peregrine Investments Holdings Ltd.

But just before the deal for controlling interest was done, Peregrine, one of Asia's largest independent investment banks, crumpled into insolvency, under the weight of crashing Asian markets, especially Indonesia.

Mr. Hutchings said, "These Hong Kong plans had been in place, in a slightly different form, since the fall of last year. When the Peregrine thing didn't happen, things changed.

"The Peregrine aspect would have allowed us to occupy their offices, work with their people along the lines of our Centre Solutions product. Peregrine would have continued to do their type of business, but we automatically would have had support staff. That support is now something that we have to build.''