IMTC has announced today that after several meetings with Cuban authorities the IMTC CUBA 2016 Conference has been given a green light. IMTC hosts the world’s largest Money Transfer Conferences and Trade Fairs. With remittances continuing to rise, the industry is seeing significant changes to the traditional business models with new developments from the Fintech … Read more
Reuters is reporting that Cuba announced on Tuesday that some cooperatives offering food and other services will be able to buy supplies directly from government producers and wholesale outlets for the first time, part of a wider but so far cautiously implemented market reform program. The new rules mean some former state-run companies turned into … Read more
According to a report in the Financial Times, Cuba’s commercial creditors have hired Rodrigo Olivares-Caminal, a professor at Queen Mary University of London, to help organize an effort to negotiate settlement terms for Cuba’s defaulted private sector claims. Background A country’s debt is made up of official debts it has with other countries (bilateral) and … Read more
Research Professor Kislaya Prasad recently visited Cuba to assess the business climate and prepare a trip for a group of academics. He offers his insights in the following Q&A. How can Cuba overcome its well publicized obstacles and become a viable environment for business? “It’s significant that U.S. tourism travel to Cuba is booming and … Read more
Here are 87 questions and answers about Cuba travel and business compiled as as of March 15, 2016. This article is explanatory only, does not have the force of law, and does not supplement or modify the Executive Orders, statutes, or regulations relating to Cuba. The information was compiled from various US government sources. Where … Read more
Since President Obama’s announcement in December 2014 of a change in policy towards Cuba, we have been a wild, legal ride. Both the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), plus the U.S. Department of State, have amended their regulations several times to remove many bureaucratic requirements that … Read more
In Cuba, change is underway in ways that could not have been imaged just last year. The embargo still restricts commercial activity in Cuba by US firms and individuals, but doing business in Cuba has gotten a lot easier. Despite existing restrictions, planning is now a critical aspect for any business that may one day … Read more
The American business community is now permitted in certain areas to work directly with the Cuban private sector, empowering Cuban entrepreneurs on the island. Here is a list of the major US companies presently permitted to do business in Cuba: Airline expansion: The United States and Cuba in December 2015 reached an arrangement to re-establish regular, … Read more
Marriott International announced today that the the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury has approved its application to pursue a business transaction in Cuba. And yesterday Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced it has partnered with several Cuban entities to manage hotels in the island nation. Reports indicate … Read more
On 28 January 2014, a subsidiary of AB InBev, AmBev, acquired a 50% equity interest in Cerveceria Bucanero S.A. (CBSA), a Cuban company in the business of producing and selling beer. The other 50% equity interest is owned by the Cuban government. Publicly traded AB InBev was formed through successive mergers of three international brewing … Read more
