Bermuda Stock Exchange Is Granted Designated Status By Canada’s Minister Of Finance

The Bermuda Stock Exchange (“BSX”) is pleased to announce that with effect from 31 October, 2011, the Minister of Finance for Canada has approved the addition of the Bermuda Stock Exchange to the list of designated exchanges under the Income Tax Act (Canada). The news represents yet another significant development for the BSX in Canada and follows the recent signing of the Tax Information Exchange Agreement (“TIEA”) between Bermuda and Canada. 

In making the announcement today, Greg Wojciechowski, President & Chief Executive Officer said:  The BSX is delighted to have achieved and been granted this very important designation by Canada’s Minister of Finance.  “Following the implementation of a Tax Information Exchange Agreement between Bermuda and Canada this summer, designation of the BSX by the Minister is very welcome news.  I am confident that these important developments will deepen the longstanding cultural, commercial and capital market ties between our countries. We are grateful to Canada’s Department of Finance for the guidance that has been provided to us during the designation process.”

In 2005, the Canadian Government removed the foreign content limit on tax-deferred retirement plans prompting an increasing number of Canadian investors to look to foreign securities listed on foreign exchanges to enhance their returns and diversify the investments held in their Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plans (“RRSPs”) and Deferred Profit Sharing Plans (“DPSPs”). The addition of the BSX to the Designated Stock Exchange list now opens up the opportunity for Canadian investors to include BSX listed securities in the investment portfolios of their RRSPs and DPSPs.

Whilst the Designation status is not an endorsement or recommendation of individual securities listed and traded on the BSX, it is an acknowledgement by the Minister of Finance for Canada that, these securities trade on a well-governed, regulated and transparent market which allow them to be qualified investments for tax-deferred retirement plans in Canada.