A new deal for business should speed up the start-up time for international companies which want to base themselves in Bermuda.

And a twin-pronged approach by the Ministers of Finance and Immigration is expected to synchronise company incorporation with work permits in a bid to cut the cost of doing business on the Island.

Premier Jennifer Smith -- speaking to a meeting of the Bermuda Society in London on Wednesday -- said the two Ministries were already working together.

She said: "Rather than having companies which need to employ foreign executives to incorporate first and then apply for work permits separately, we hope to be able to synchronise the processes.

"This should both expedite and reduce the cost of the entire start- up process.'' It is the first trip to Britain for Ms Smith as head of Government -- and her first address to the influential Bermuda Society.

And she told the high-powered group of Britons with Bermudian links that the move would make Bermuda a more attractive destination for big business.

Ms Smith said: "We believe the start-up time and cost are highly relevant to Bermuda's competitive edge.'' She added: "We believe that through enhanced dialogue between international companies and the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Government's commitment to maximising Bermudian employment at all levels of the international sector and the corporate needs to import specialised labour from abroad are both goals that can be achieved.'' Ms Smith also pledged her Government would introduce law reforms "aimed at maintaining the domicile's competitiveness.'' And the Premier -- leader of a traditionally pro-Independence party -- signalled a softer approach to the Island's relations with the UK.

She said: "In our meetings.. we are reinforcing the mutually beneficial relationship which already exists between Bermuda and the United Kingdom Government as we explore what can reasonably be achieved in the years ahead.'' Ms Smith added: "We know that we are partners in whatever solution lies ahead.

"In the forefront of our considerations will be what form that relationship should take in ensuring the long-term reliability and stability of one of Bermuda's leading economic pillars, the international business' sector.'' And she promised to preserve the Island's "tax neutral'' status, as well as the English-based legal system -- including right of appeal to the Privy Council in London, which some Commonwealth countries, including Caribbean ones, want to ditch.

She added that draft legislation had been prepared to toughen up the Island's insolvency law.

And she said: "Our law permits the establishment of asset protection trusts, but affords reasonable protection to creditors if any such trust were set up with intent to defraud them.'' Ms Smith admitted that tourism's decline -- with last year being the worst for air arrivals in a quarter century -- continued to a major worry.

But she added: "United Kingdom Government authority and cooperation are essential if we are to achieve our objective of improving air links between Bermuda and Europe.'' A spokeswoman for the Bermuda Society -- largely composed of movers and shakers in the City of London's financial world -- had been reassured that the PLP backed business.

She said: "The speech was extremely well-received and the Premier got a standing ovation.'' CONFERENCE CON