From Offshore Bankers

Minister of Economic Development Grant Gibbons has announced that legislation making key amendments to the laws governing partnerships has been successfully passed by both the House of Assembly and Senate.

The Ministry of Economic Development sponsored 4 Bills that will make changes to the Partnerships Act 1902; Exempted Partnerships Act 1992; Limited Partnership Act 1883; and the Companies Act 1981.

The amendments are designed to improve Bermuda’s product offering and increase Bermuda’s competitiveness as a jurisdiction of choice.

As well, several of the amendments will achieve parity amongst certain rights afforded to companies and those provided for partnerships.

Some of the specific changes include:

1) increased flexibility and efficiency with respect to internal governance and administration of partnerships including changes in partners or in the partnership structure;

2) enabling partnerships to relocate to Bermuda from other jurisdictions; and

3) additional clarification on certain responsibilities of partners.

Focusing on the collective efforts of the Government and industry partners on this important initiative, Dr. Gibbons stated, “The Government has engaged in a targeted, multi-faceted approach to revitalize and reinvigorate our economy.

This has resulted in strong collaboration between the Government, Bermuda Monetary Authority, Bermuda Business Development Agency and many other firms across the private sector. These amendments are a direct result of this collaboration.”

Dr. Gibbons further stated, “The fact that these Bills received bipartisan support in both the House of Assembly and the Senate indicates that these amendments are a necessary step in our continued efforts to modernize our laws, improve our products and maintain pace with the market.

The vast majority of partnerships on the registry are private or closed investment funds, and we are taking a number of steps to stimulate growth in Bermuda’s asset management industry.

This includes efforts to increase the number of asset managers in Bermuda. The efficiency and effectiveness with which we deliver solutions to the market is critical to sustaining Bermuda’s reputation as a premier international business centre and encouraging more businesses to establish offices in Bermuda.”

“As of April 30, 2015, there were approximately 800 active funds in Bermuda, and we’re looking to increase that number,” said Dr. Gibbons.

“The current Bills, along with other legislative initiatives being advanced by the Ministry of Economic Development, are an important part of our efforts to achieve growth in this area.”

For more on this story go to: http://www.offshore-bankers.net/article/20824/bermuda-makes-key-changes-to-partnership-laws
IMAGE: www.bermuda.com