News24, SA. July 31,
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.
John S Kavulich, head of the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a
non-profit group that studies the island's economy, said 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, Kavulich said.
"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.
The report also said the Cuban negotiating tactics often don't "follow
what foreign executives would consider 'good faith bargaining'".
"In the manner of a used-car salesperson who claims his boss won't
approve the deal he has just signed with a customer, Cuban negotiators
frequently discover previously undisclosed constraints," it said.
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."
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