Foreign Investment Forum at FIHAV 2022

The Foreign Investment Forum of this year’s Havana International Fair (FIHAV) took place at the ExpoCuba exhibition center.

This year’s panelists were President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Rodrigo Malmierca, Foreign Investment and Trade Minister, and Manuel Marrero Cruz, Prime Minister.

Sixty countries attended this year’s FIHAV, including Spain, Italy, Russia, China, Canada, France, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates. Thirty Chambers of Commerce and Cuban companies joined. And for the first time, representatives of the micro, small and medium-sized (MSMEs) sector and cooperatives linked to foreign investment participated.

Minister Malmierca spoke of current investment levels that fell short of the set goals of $2 billion annually. As of October 30, 2022, Cuba signed 30 foreign investment deals valued at approximately $402 million, an increase over last year’s pandemic levels. However, the amount is less than pre-pandemic averages of $2 billion. This year’s signed deals are in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), hotel management, and business contracts.

The Minister said that over 50 new projects worth $9 billion are in advanced negotiations. These were in the tourism, food, transportation, professional services, commerce, construction, industries, energy, biotech, health, info tech, and mining sectors.

Total foreign investment in Cuba now stands at more than $10 billion from over 40 countries.

Malmierca spoke of the difficulties of foreign investment attraction because of international instability, the economic crisis, and the continuing US blockade.

He said Cuba had overcome the pandemic and is engaged in a gradual economic recovery.

“It is necessary to articulate foreign investment with the Development Strategy, promote new business opportunities and eliminate obstacles,” he said.

Cuba is promoting its business opportunities for foreign investment.

Prime Minister Marrero stressed Cuba’s willingness to comply with its international obligations and arrears payments. He thanked those investors who continue to invest in the country.

“We guarantee compliance with late payments if financial conditions allow,” he said.

“These are hard years, but we have the conditions and confidence in the country’s ability to overcome the difficulties,” he said.

The Prime Minister said, “We must banish all that unnecessary bureaucracy and generate new opportunities attractive to foreign investors.”

Marrero stated that the leadership continues to work on changing persistent and obsolete attitudes against foreign investment.

“After the approval in 2014 of Law 118 on Foreign Investment, 272 new businesses have materialized outside the Mariel Special Development Zone, and 51 within that area. Of this figure, 104 are joint ventures, 161 are International Economic Partnership contracts and 56 with totally foreign capital, 15 of them are in the process of liquidation.”

Malmierca spoke about the VUINEX program, the support platform for investors. Between January and September, the system processed over 204 applications.

He said with VUINEX, over 15 companies signed agreements, and it received 66 inquiries. Of those, 27 are now in negotiations.

The Minister also spoke of recent updates in foreign investment policies and regulations to benefit investors.