Cuba announced in May the next step in its economic transition by allowing legal status for private businesses. Previously, the communist government permitted individuals to operate as self-employed workers under several hundred clearly-defined roles such as taxi driver. The latest announcement will likely take months to become law. “Private property in certain means of production … Read more
Renewable energy is a priority for Cuba as the island nation copes with power shortages and a dependency on foreign sources of crude oil. One British firm has been working on a project to exploit the energy value of sugarcane since 2012. Havana Energy, led by former Labour trade secretary Brian Wilson, is to build … Read more
By Simons Chase Argentina defaulted on more than $80 billion of debt in 2001, the largest sovereign default at the time. For three months in 2012, the three-masted Libertad, an Argentine naval ship and the flagship of her fleet, was detained in Ghana following legal action by US-based hedge fund, Elliot Capital Management, as it … Read more
Cuba has a number of non-tariff measures, institutional and infrastructural factors, and other barriers that affect the ability of foreign partners to trade with or invest in the country. Some of these factors are possible barriers because they are not yet faced by US firms, due to the limited involvement of US firms in the … Read more
Meliá Hotels International open its first Cuban hotel, the Sol Palmeras, more than a quarter of a century ago. Since its opening, Meliá has continued to develop hotels through a successful formula based on joint venture investments with the Cuban government. Today it is the largest foreign hotel operator in Cuba. Last year, at an … Read more
Unilever Plc will return to Cuba after several years of dispute over joint venture terms. The joint venture will build a $35 million soap and toothpaste factory at Cuba’s Mariel Port Special Development Zone. The Dutch-British company left Cuba in 2012 in a dispute over controlling interest in their joint venture. Unilever NV will have … Read more
By Steven M. Harper, Esq – Cuba Journal Op-Ed Contributor In May of 2015, some of my law partners and I traveled to Havana for the purpose of meeting with Cuban attorneys and learning something about the Cuban legal system. We spoke with a variety of lawyers, some who worked as members of a “colectiva” … Read more
Last week, first ever bilateral UAE-Cuba Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi highlighted the opportunities for investment in the Cuban economy. It was the culmination of a week-long program for a group of senior Cuban Government officials and businessmen led by Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz, Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment. The Cuba group also visited … Read more
