Removing need to advertise intention to incorporate Changing need for Finance Minister to approve incorporations By David Fox 6.5 Proposed legislative changes that would streamline the process of incorporating a Bermuda company are being welcomed by the international business community.

The Finance Minister, Grant Gibbons, took a bill to Parliament on Friday that would amend the Companies Act, 1981.

The proposed changes include removing the requirement to advertise in the newspaper an intention to incorporate a company, and modifying the requirement that the Finance Minister consent to the incorporation of all companies wishing to register here.

The bill is also welcomed by the industry of professional service companies that support international business in Bermuda.

Chairman of the Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA), Glenn Titterton, said yesterday, "The changes are designed to retain Bermuda's well-deserved reputation for quality, while making it easier for the Island's reputable international customers to do business here.'' Although the requirement for international companies to advertise their intention to incorporate has been removed, the required review of beneficial owners of proposed Bermuda companies will remain.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) usually conducts that review on behalf of the Finance Ministry. The legislation adds to that responsibility by requiring the same vetting procedure to apply to companies continuing from another jurisdiction to Bermuda, or amalgamating with existing Bermuda companies.

Mr. Titterton approved of the fact that the formal consent of the Minister remains a requirement to incorporate a Bermuda company for those companies working within what he called "the sensitive financial services sector.'' He said, "For the large majority of company incorporations, the formality of ministerial consent was not really necessary, although it added to the time required to incorporate a company.

"Our competitor jurisdictions elsewhere, were able to incorporate companies much more quickly than we were and, as a result, Bermuda was losing good quality business.'' Mr. Titterton said that by retaining the BMA review of the beneficial owners, Bermuda will keep the cornerstone of its "know your customer'' philosophy while eliminating some of the paper shuffling which has historically slowed down the incorporation process.

He said that full implementation of the new regime was expected to occur in the early fall, as the BMA and Finance Ministry officials, together with BIBA representatives, complete the streamlining of the Government's internal processes to take full advantage of the flexibility the new regime allows.

He said, "These changes are part of the continual review of Bermuda's legislative framework for international business by BIBA, in consultation with the Government, to maintain Bermuda's position as a leading offshore financial centre.'' The bill includes other changes designed to increase the transparency of Bermuda's regulatory process and corporate governance requirements, including a requirement that all licenses issued to exempt companies in Bermuda be available for public inspection, and changes to make it more difficult for companies to dismiss their auditors without full accountability to their shareholders.

Glenn Titterton