New Business Development Minister Patrice Minors has pledged an open-door policy to businesses and aims to continue the work of Premier and Finance Minister Paula Cox in promoting the Island as a top global business centre.

Ms Minors added that Bermuda did not need to bend over backwards just to keep companies despite the recent spate of firms leaving its shores.

In an exclusive interview with The Royal Gazette, the new Minister, who returned to the political fold after seven years out of Cabinet, has been charged with tying together the two pillars of the Island's economy - international business and tourism.

Under her new remit will be the Registrar of Companies, e-commerce, intellectual properties and the general promotion of the Island's international business sector, working with all of the stakeholders including insurance companies and organisations such as Business Bermuda.

"I want to ensure that we are putting on the consistent international business face of Bermuda with the precedent set by the new Premier and continuing that level as she has so ably done," she said.

Having worked in the international business sector for a number of years, Ms Minors started out in 1986 as a management trainee at the Bank of Bermuda, where she served for 11 years and focused on trust management, prior to a stint in Government and then joining Butterfield Bank in 2003 again working in trust and wealth management dealing with international clients.

And she believes that the skills and experience acquired during that time allied to the faith put in her by Premier Cox will stand her in good stead for the challenge ahead.

In breaking up the Finance Ministry into new portfolios for Business Development, and Economy, Trade and Industry - the latter of which has been assigned to Senator Kim Wilson - Ms Minors views the Premier as taking more of a hands-on role with the Treasury while delegating responsibility for the other key business areas.

But she reckons that combining the two parts of tourism and international business will enable her to focus on the "bigger picture" through the overlap between the two sectors with a good tourism product required for the business traveller to Bermuda.

Furthermore, Ms Minors regards all components of international business, including insurance and financial services, as having their own level of importance, and plans to meet with the various representatives from each industry to find out their ideas, the work they are doing and their vision for the future.

She will also strive to make the Island attractive to businesses seeking to set up their base or redomicile here.

"I think basically I just want to continue to uphold the standards for which we are known for and making sure that all of our regulatory matters are attended to," she said.

"The new Premier and Finance Minister has been key in ensuring that Bermuda is held in high esteem in the international business environment and I will endeavour to continue such a perception."

Dismissing Bermuda's regulatory environment as the sole reason behind an outflux of companies redomiciling to areas like Europe, Ms Minors said that businesses had their own private reasons for moving and those should be accepted, adding that she would be receptive to any companies facing issues over the Island as a jurisdiction.

"I don't think that we should be bending over backwards or just compromising to keep businesses here," she said.

"Our aim should be to continue to give a high level of service and ensure the highest regulatory standards."

On the subject of Business Bermuda, Ms Minors said that the organisation offered good value for money as borne out by its membership numbers and the success of its annual events in London and New York and hoped to learn more about its work in the future.

Overall, she said that Bermuda needed to maintain its status as a "jewel" in attracting reputable business from overseas while seeing the progression of Bermudians into senior positions in all areas of business.