General

According to reports on August 16, Cuba has allowed foreign capital to enter the domestic trade market for the first time in more than 60 years.

According to reports, the Cuban government plans to allow some foreign investment into local wholesale and retail trade for the first time since Fidel Castro led the Cuban Revolution to victory in 1959.

For the first time, foreign investors will be allowed to own local wholesalers or enter the market through joint ventures, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba, Ana Teresita Gonzalez, said in a TV program on the evening of the 15th. She said the announced measures should not be viewed in isolation, but rather as decisions to guide Cuba's recovery from a complex economic situation and move forward step by step.

The retail sector will be more restricted, but it will also open doors for some businesses in the sector, the report said.

The reforms would allow foreign entities to invest in warehousing and "back-end" logistics operations that supply state-owned and private companies, for example, supporting the country's efforts to boost the inefficient retail sector.

Gonzalez also said Cuba would "selectively" allow some foreign investors to enter the retail market, as long as those investments help achieve the country's economic goals and reduce prices.

On the 16th, Cuban Minister of Economic Planning Alejandro Hill commented on Twitter: "Given the severe restrictions we face, foreign investment in wholesale and retail trade will expand and diversify under state supervision to the population. commodities and will contribute to the recovery of the country's industry."

Internal Trade Minister Betsy Diaz Velasque said Cuba would maintain its dominance in the retail sector but would allow some public-private joint ventures to enter the market.

"We will give priority to businesses that remain in Cuba and provide them with these business advice," Velasque said.

Cuba is trying to redefine its economy through a variety of measures after suffering from the woes of the new crown pandemic and sweeping U.S. sanctions that have hampered its recovery.

Reports say long queues to buy goods, fuel shortages and frequent power outages have prompted Cuban authorities to speed up a plan to reform the country's economy.

Gonzalez and Velasco said on the same program on the evening of the 16th that the goal of the reform is to enable more raw materials and commodities to reach Cuban producers and consumers.