Good day to members of the media and the listening public. Thank you for your attendance and for watching this press conference.
I am here today to say with confidence, that Government’s steadfast commitment to growing the economy through innovative practices is finding success.
With that said, I am pleased to report that the 1-Year Residential Certificate programme has so far garnered 557 applications of which 442 have been approved. This is very good news for Bermuda and Bermudians as these persons will be enjoying life in Bermuda while contributing daily to the local economy.
From the vast number of applications received, it is clear that the Residential Certificate is proving to be quite popular. The certificate, along with Bermuda’s economic substance legislation, has demonstrated its ability to invite not only individuals or families but medium to large size companies as well.
And so I am excited to share that in the coming months, Afiniti International Holdings Ltd (Afiniti), which is headquartered in Bermuda, will immediately increase its economic and physical presence on the island. In doing so, it will hire ten Bermudians and submit approximately Ninety applications for 1-year Residential Certificates. This will allow even more of its staff, many of whom will come from Pakistan to work-from-home in Bermuda, while the company goes through the process of applying for traditional work permits. If successful, the work permits will allow the immediate transfer of staff to the local company. The work permit applications will be for individuals highly skilled in the specialized field of Artificial Intelligence. This is extremely good news for Bermuda.
Additionally, Afiniti anticipates significantly growing its workforce and intends to fund local talent development so that at least 50% of its workforce will be Bermudian in the coming years. This is promising news for Bermuda’s local economy and workforce in the long term.
Afiniti is an American multinational data and software company, with a focus on developing artificial intelligence for use in customer call centers. It is a privately held company, with a valuation of $1.6 billion in 2017. In January 2018, Fortune magazine included Afiniti on its list of the 100 companies “leading the way in A.I.”
The Affiniti Board of Directors includes former President Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, former US Treasury Secretary John Snow, former Verizon President Larry Babbio, and former Premier of Bermuda, Dame Jennifer Smith.
This is a great opportunity for Bermudians to join or launch a career with a technology company at the cutting edge of Artificial Intelligence.
It is worth noting that Afiniti requires no financial incentives and expects to generate an immediate increase in the Government’s fiscal revenues. Their investment in Bermuda at this time, speaks volumes about our infrastructure, geographic location, and is a testament to this Government’s ability to create an environment that is attractive to companies such as this. I’m sure we all look forward to more companies following Afiniti’s lead.
On behalf of the Government and people of Bermuda, I look forward to welcoming the Afiniti team to Bermuda, and ask that we be open to the possibilities this opportunity and others will present.
Thank you. At this time, I welcome questions from the media.