No change has been made to the 60:40 company ownership rule since Bermuda’s Premier David Burt announced its proposed reform more than a year ago, it has been claimed.
Premier Burt had pledged in the 2018 Budget Statement to revise the quota which sets out the ratio for the ownership of companies entitled to carry on business in Bermuda in a move designed to increase investment in the island and boost opportunities for Bermudians. The regulation was originally introduced to ensure that local companies were at least 60 per cent owned and controlled by Bermudians. The new proposal sought to reduce this to 40 per cent Bermudian ownership.
While Premier Burt acknowledged the proposal would face opposition from both sides of the House of Assembly, it is thought resistance for the change has largely come from his own Progressive Labour Party, and no progress on the issue has been made since the Premier’s speech other than the government relaxing the restriction on foreign law firms to carry on business in Bermuda.
John Wight, the president of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, was of the opinion that applying for an exemption to the rule, which is currently possible as the law stands, does not provide the “welcoming approach” that Bermuda should be looking to adopt to encourage foreign investment, while Sir John Swan, a former Premier of Bermuda felt the rule was an anachronism having been put in place at a time when those in power in Bermuda felt the need to control the influx of foreigners at a time when the economy was booming.
