CUBA BUSINESS SECTION - Havana Journal > Cuba-World Trade
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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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 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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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…
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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…
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(Article by AFP - comments added by Havana Journal Publisher)
Wu Bangguo (R), President of the Parliament of the People’s Republic of China, and his Cuban counterpart Ricardo Alarcon pose after a wreath-laying ceremony at the Jose Marti monument in Havana. AFP PHOTO (Jose Marti died fighting against Spain’s control of Cuba and here’s China buying their way into Cuba. It’s shameful to honor Jose Marti in this way.)
China provided its ideological ally Cuba 600 million dollars in loans and grants (they really mean just grants since Cuba doesn’t pay back loans) Wednesday…
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VITO ECHEVARRÍA | Cuba News
In June, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis said it would establish an office in Havana — a vote of confidence for Cuba’s biotech industry by the largest drugmaker in Europe.
Antoine Ortoli, Sanofi’s inter-continental vice-president, said his company hopes to use its Cuban presence to boost sales of its pharmaceutical products to the Cuban medical establishment.
Since 2001, Sanofi-Aventis has been selling the Cubans — through its Sanofi Pasteur unit — vaccines and medicines to treat epilepsy, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases, among other ailments.
Ortoli told Spanish news agency…
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UPI
(Original title: Russia, Cuba negotiate $150M trade loan)
Moscow says it will negotiate a $150 million loan with Cuba for the purchase of Russian construction and agricultural machinery.
A resolution signed Monday by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin instructs the Russian Finance Ministry to talk with Cuba and sign an agreement for the loan on Russia’s behalf if a deal is reached, RIA Novosti reported.
The news agency said the loan would carry a 7 percent annual interest rate and, the resolution says, would be “signed for the purpose of further developing and strengthening friendly relations between the two…
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TheCubaBlog.com is reporting that two banks in Cuba have stopped foreign businesses from withdrawing or transfering funds.
The banks noted are Banco Financiero Internacional and Banco Metropolitano.
One Italian businessman said “they´ve blocked us sending transfers abroad and placed a 6 month window of time for these to be processed plus they´ve introduced a law that impedes our withdrawals of cash so basically they´ve confiscated our money and nobody does anything about it”.
Other businessmen in Cuba made similar comments.
There is also information about “restrictions” on foreign travel agencies that are requiring their customers…
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By Jeff Franks | Reuters
Brazil said on Thursday it would give Cuba up to $300 million in credits to start rebuilding the island’s port of Mariel, better known as the site of a 1980 Cuban exodus to the United States.
Brazilian Industry and Trade Minister Miguel Jorge said $110 million had been approved by his government and the rest would likely be, as Brazil strengthens its ties with communist-led Cuba.
He said in a news conference that construction, to be led by a Brazilian company, would begin “very soon” with the building of infrastructure including highways and a railroad…
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