CUBA BUSINESS SECTION - Havana Journal
Cuba has more than one peso
Cuba has always been known as one of the hottest travel destinations in the Caribbean. Before the 1959 revolution, Americans loved to visit Cuba. The island is filled with exotic beaches, fabulous hotels and casinos that never close. Since the revolution, Cuba has been subjected to U.S. travel, and trade embargoes. The value of the American Dollar went to zero after the revolution and Cuba’s economy suffered a dramatic decline. Cuba decided to link their Peso with the Soviet Union’s Ruble when U.S. relations broke down and that moved stimulated their economy. Tourism became…
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Havana Journal
The traditional Artisan Market of the Cathedral Square has found a new venue in a recently refurbished Pier store, formerly the San José stores, a work done by the Office of the Historian in order to preserve and protect the Havana’s heritage and create a new place for the promotion and enjoyment of genuine values of the Cuban culture.
The new center, long considered the oldest of the harbor piers, located at the Avenida del Puerto and right on Havana harbor, the area has been, since ancient times, a commercial location and pier…
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Rob Sequin | Havana Journal
Photos by SRM
This year’s 27th annual International Business Fair at ExpoCuba in Havana, better known as FIHAV, was held in early November and was covered by several news reporting agencies from inside and outside of Cuba. We also had our own correspondent covering the Fair.
This article is a compilation of information from a variety of sources including Granma, Radio Guantanamo, Xinhua and others. For more information on FIHAV in general visit Feria Havana, Hotel Palco or MINREX the Cuban…
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By Marc Frank | Reuters
Cuba has ordered all state enterprises to adopt “extreme measures” to cut energy usage through the end of the year in hopes of avoiding the dreaded blackouts that plagued the country following the 1991 collapse of its then-top ally, the Soviet Union.
In documents seen by Reuters, government officials have been warned that the island is facing a “critical” energy shortage that requires the closing of non-essential factories and workshops and the shutting down of air conditioners and refrigerators not needed to preserve food and medicine.
Cuba has cut government spending and slashed imports after…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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