Corporate Governance

We are an exempt company incorporated in Bermuda and are subject to the laws of that jurisdiction. The legal framework in Bermuda which applies to exempted companies is flexible and allows an exempted company to comply with the corporate governance regime of the relevant jurisdiction in which the company operates or applicable listing standards. Under Bermuda law, members of a board of directors owe a fiduciary duty to the company to act in good faith in their dealings with or on behalf of the company and to exercise their powers and fulfill the duties of their office honestly. In addition, the Bermuda company legislation imposes a duty on directors and officers of an exempted company to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the company and requires them to exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances. Bermuda legislation also imposes certain specific duties and obligations on companies and directors, both directly and indirectly, including duties and obligations with respect to matters such as (a) loans to directors and related persons; and (b) limits on indemnities for directors and officers. Bermuda law does not impose specific obligations in respect of corporate governance, such as those prescribed by NYSE listing standards, requiring a company to (i) appoint independent directors to their boards, (ii) hold regular meetings of non-management directors; (iii) establish audit, nominating and governance or compensation committees; (iv) have shareholders approve equity compensation plans; (v) adopt corporate governance guidelines; or (vi) adopt a code of business conduct and ethics.

We are also subject to the NYSE listing standards, although, because we are a foreign private issuer, those standards are considerably different from those applied to US companies. Under the NYSE rules, we need only (i) establish an independent audit committee that has specifi ed responsibilities as described in the following table; (ii) provide prompt certification by our chief executive officer of any material non-compliance with any corporate governance rules; (iii) provide periodic written affirmations to the NYSE with respect to our corporate governance practices; and (iv) provide a brief description of significant differences between our corporate governance practices and those followed by US companies.