CUBA BUSINESS SECTION - Havana Journal
By SHEILA RILEY | FOR INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY
Cuba, land of beaches, salsa clubs, aging U.S. cars and .. . high-tech?
The communist island nation can become a tech success story, says Mark Entwistle, Canada’s former ambassador to Cuba.
With a population of just 11.4 million, Cuba already does high-level medical care and research, particularly in the areas of cancer, meningitis and AIDS, Entwistle says.
Cuba also has a developing biotech industry, and the government is working to develop the information technology field as well, he says.
The former ambassador says the island has a large number…
more…
By Marc Frank | Reuters
Cuba has chosen to pay a steeper price than it has to for Venezuelan oil so it can discourage itself from becoming too dependent on one source for energy, a senior Cuban official said on Friday.
Deputy Foreign Minister Rogelio Siera Diaz said Cuba chose to get oil under the more expensive “Caracas Accord” instead of through Venezuela’s Petrocaribe group. The goal was to avoid complacency.
“We decided to stay with the Caracas agreement so we would not become too dependent,” Siera said.
PetroCaribe, a Venezuelan initiative with 18 member nations including Cuba, allows for…
more…
The world recession has caused more intense screening of business executives seeking Cuban visas and has slowed down decision-making on new business projects on the communist island,a U.S. maritime executive said Thursday.
Speaking at the SeaCargo Americas conference in Miami, Jay Brickman, vice president of government services at Crowley Marine Services, said the worldwide slowdown has battered an already weak Cuban economy, with prices for nickel exports down by some 40 percent,a sharp decline in remittances from Cubans overseas and less spending by tourists visiting the island.
“The [economic] situation…
more…
By Marc Frank | Reuters
Russian state oil company Zarubezhneft signed contracts with Cuba on Tuesday to search for oil along Cuba’s northern coast and said it was looking at procuring more areas for exploration in a step forward for the island’s oil hopes.
Zarubezhneft signed up with state-owned Cuba Petroleos for four almost contiguous blocks, two onshore and two offshore in the Gulf of Mexico just east of Cuba’s most prolific oil field in Varadero.
The deal was the latest sign of warming relations between the Cold War allies, who had a falling out after the Soviet Union, Cuba’s…
more…
By Esteban Israel | Reuters
A popular website of classified ads that has given Cubans a taste of the free market has been blocked on the communist-run island, Internet users said.
Cubans trying to access Revolico.com, which says it has more than 1.5 million page views a month, are being diverted to the search engine Google.com.
“If I type the address and press ‘enter,’ I get redirected. If I Google it and click, I get redirected. What is going on?,” asked Sandra a 30-year-old government employee who, like several others interviewed, did not give their full names.
Cuban…
more…
By Marc Frank | Reuters
Business between Cuba and four of its top five trading partners has declined sharply this year in a reflection of the communist-led Caribbean island’s deep economic crisis, trade reports from the countries said.
Reductions in exports to and imports from Cuba ranged from 20 percent to as high as 50 percent, according to the reports from China, Spain, Canada and the United States. In descending order, they are the top traders with Cuba after Venezuela.
Numbers were not available for Venezuela, which is the leading economic and political ally of Cuba’s government and supplies the…
more…
By Nick Miroff | Global Post
For years, U.S. mobile phone companies and internet providers have been banned from doing business with Cuba, further isolating one of the least-connected countries in the hemisphere.
So when the Obama administration loosened those restrictions earlier this year, it looked like a tech surge was in store for the communist-ruled island. But after months of silence, Cuba seems to be saying no thanks.
Other outstanding trade and legal grievances need to be resolved before American telecommunications companies are granted access, a Cuban telecom official said Saturday, in a statement that appeared to rebuff one…
more…
Press Release
Fuego Enterprises, Inc. (PinkSheets:FUGI - News) spun off on October 12, 2009 a newly incorporated shell company to shareholders of record as of September 12, 2009. Shareholders of record are to ultimately receive 1 share of the new company, Cuba Business Development Group, Inc. (“CBDG”), for every two shares held in Fuego Enterprises, Inc. Fractional shares will not be issued.
“Cuba Business Development Group Inc. was formed to take advantage of opportunities we expect in the very near future as the U.S and Cuba inevitably establish more normal relations and businesses in both countries need our expertise and…
more…
Latin American Herald Tribune
Wu Bangguo, speaker of China’s National Assembly and second secretary of the country’s ruling Communist Party, concluded on Thursday a two-day visit to Cuba that included talks with President Raul Castro as well as with his predecessor and older brother, Fidel.
Wu also joined the leader of Cuba’s parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, to witness the signing of accords for a Chinese no-interest loan to Havana and a line of credit from Beijing to finance modernization of ports and broadcasting facilities on the Caribbean island.
Beijing is also loaning Cuba money to buy 10 cargo ships, while the…
more…
By Marc Frank | Reuters
Many foreign suppliers and investors in Cuba are still unable to repatriate hundreds of millions of dollars from local accounts almost a year after Cuban authorities blocked them because of the financial crisis, foreign diplomats and businessmen said.
The businessmen, who asked not to be identified, said they were increasingly frustrated because the Communist authorities refused to offer explanations or solutions for the situation, which stems from a cash crunch in the Cuban economy triggered by the global downturn and heavy hurricane damage last year.
“I have repeatedly e-mailed, visited the offices and sent my…
more…
View all Havana Journal business articles in 2009
Didn't find the article you were looking for? You can SEARCH for it.
