CU business
August 2, 2001

Havana - Packing your briefcase for a business trip to Cuba? Two items not to forget: cloak and dagger. The economy of Fidel Castro's communist-run island - although still under firm state control - is hungry for foreign investment and opportunities abound. But when it comes to getting down to business, put down your MBA reading and pick up an old John LeCarre novel. Secrecy and mistrust does not only come from government officials encouraged for years to publicly despise profits and other capitalist tenets. The foreign business community, caught between the notorious sensitivity of Castro's officials and the fear of US reprisals for breaching the 42-year-old US trade embargo against Cuba, is generally tightlipped and at times seems almost pathologically anxious to keep a low profile. Many foreign companies trading with or investing in Cuba "want to stay under the proverbial radar screen". Public comments found irritating by the Cuban government can translate into payment delays, and can also hold companies up to scrutiny by US regulators monitoring sanctions. "I'm sorry, we are not authorised to give out names of Canadian companies working here," said a duty officer at the Canadian embassy's commercial section. "Impossible," responded Alain Marinetti, commercial director for French construction giant Bouyges, when asked to talk about its current projects in Havana, which are said to include at least two hotels. "I'm afraid we have nobody there who is authorised to speak to you," said Isabel Moreno at the press office of Spanish bank Caja Madrid, which has a majority share in a joint venture with Corporacion Financiera Habana and reportedly plans to install automatic teller machines around the Cuban capital. Add to that the old saw used by state employees all over the former socialist bloc - "We pretend to work and they pretend to pay us" - and the recipe for 9-to-5 frustration is complete. During a recent two-week quest for interviews, a few interesting variations on the usual "Sorry, he's in a meeting" excuse were heard. "Oh, she just got a call from the police. Her house has been burgled and she had to step out to file a report." "Sorry, but the secretary was suddenly taken sick after your call and forgot to transfer your appointment into the official agenda."  A number of others made appointments but simply failed to show up or suddenly were substituted by lower-ranking representatives with no clearance to give any meaningful information. Once you get around to hammering out a deal with Cuban officials, expect a long, rough ride from well-prepared negotiators. The latest edition of Cuba: a guideline for Canadian business, prepared by Canada's embassy here, says Cuban negotiators are "exceptionally well-prepared", but sometimes focus on "short-run financial gains that can ease the country's immediate shortages of hard currency and technology". "Negotiations with Cuban government entities are characterised by a deep distrust of capitalist motives," the report said, adding that getting approval for a joint venture can take up to three years.  Asked about the report, several foreign businessmen said they thought it was too harsh. "I think this country is a very straight country," said Stephen Marshall, a British businessperson who runs four joint ventures here. "Getting a deal done requires a very deep understanding of the idiosyncrasies of Cuba, but that's also true of other countries."

Havana - (RHC) - In brief comments to the press during a break in National Assembly commission meetings, Cuba's Minister for Economics and Planning reported an increase in the island's economic activity by a margin of 3.6% in the first quarter of this year. José Luis Rodriguez said this increase was mostly due to a parallel increase in worker productivity, which was up by 2.8%, along with a decrease in energy consumption of 2.9%. Exports, he added, had swollen by 10.7% while imports had remained stable at last year's 0.7%. Cuba has aimed for a 5% increase in GDP this year, said Rodriguez, who feels that in spite of the bad sugar harvest, the goal is realistic and will probably be achieved. Expectations for the just-completed second quarter of 2001 are even higher, he added. International sugar and nickel prices dropped this year, thereby negatively affecting the island's bottom line. The nickel industry is the third most important income earner for the nation. This process of economic recovery goes hand in hand with gains in education, culture, social assistance and changes in employment policies, said the Cuban Economics Minister, who pointed to improved confidence in the economy on the part of the population. Even conservative international publications like "The Economist" speak of optimized economic recovery in Cuba for this year.