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Cuba
Libre: American Business In Post-Castro
Cuba
By cnbc.com
Staff | 07 May 2007.
As the world monitors the declining health
of Cuban President, Fidel Castro, talk of
potential government reform and an end to
a 45 year old U.S. trade sanction has many
American businesses poised to take advantage
of a wealth of opportunity. Although countries
such as China, Venezuela, Italy, Israel
and Canada already benefit from intact business
relations with Cuba, American interests
hope to gain from its geographical advantage.
Big City Dreams
In 1960, Nicolas Quintana was a prominent
Havana architect, a member of Cuba's national
planning board. When Castro came to power,
Quintana left for what he thought would
be a few months. He has been in exile ever
since. Now, from his post at Florida International
University, Quintana, 81, is developing
an ambitious plan to rebuild and restore
Old Havana. This is not just the nostalgic
musings of an old man. It is a project funded
by two homebuilders--Lennar and Century.
And there are indications the Cuban authorities
are not only aware of the plan, they may
tacitly approve of it. What role will U.S.
companies play in rebuilding Cuba, especially
when other countries are already there?
Their Ship Has Come In
U.S. trade with Cuba has been embargoed
for 45 years. But Crowley Shipping does
business with Cuba every week, and has since
2001. Under an exception to the embargo
for agricultural products, Crowley sends
one ship a week between Florida and Havana.
The man who captained the first U.S. vessel
in more than 40 years tells us that Cuba
is a ripe market for American goods. And
the company--which is busily planning for
post-embargo Cuba--offers lessons for others
that want to follow it there.
Two Nation Vacation
Tourism is Cuba's biggest growth industry.
Developers worldwide are building hotels
there, and tourists are flocking there--except
from the U.S. If the embargo is lifted,
the U.S. tourism industry is expected to
be among the first to try and capitalize.
This has officials in Key West, Florida,
nervous. They've been planning for the fall
of Castro since 2000, bracing for a new
competitor for tourist dollars just 90 miles
away. They even have a marketing campaign
ready to roll out.
Cuban Black Gold
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there
are 4.6 billion barrels of oil in Cuba,
most of it undiscovered; which would put
Cuba's reserves fourth in Latin America
(behind Brazil). Developing those reserves
would be a potential bonanza for U.S. oil
and oil services companies, were it not
for the U.S. trade embargo. But with other
countries already there--and a Canadian
company, Sherrit International, about to
begin exporting Cuban oil--how much longer
will the U.S. energy industry be willing
to sit on the sidelines?
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