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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
WASHINGTON, DC
- A leading investment group identified billions of dollars worth of
opportunities in Cuba following President Obama's announcement of plans
to re-establish relations with the Caribbean island nation.
The
Cuba Business Outlook, produced by the business intelligence group
Global News Matters, reported many opportunities - with investments
required in just about every sector.
The
report reviewed more than US $2.8 billion of investment opportunities
in agriculture, agro-industry, manufacturing, tourism, energy,
pharmaceuticals and transportation.
Melissa
Marchand, Managing Director of Global News Matters, which produced the
investment analysis, reported her team took extra steps to help
newcomers unaccustomed to the nature of the communist island nation's
business practices:"We even went as far as to provide the
contact information for each of these projects since most of them are
under a Mixed Ownership scheme with State Entities."
Marchand
added: "Investment is one of the top focuses of the Cuba Business
Outlook report, because it is important to understand what is planned in
Cuba, even if it may be considered premature to execute on an
investment while US-Cuba policy continues to evolve."
Furthermore,
Marchand asserted: "It is also important for other jurisdictions in the
region, competing for investment dollars, to understand the nature of
the projects and sectors where Cuba is seeking investment."
The
Cuba Business Outlook estimates the country will need $3 billion in
renewable energy investment by 2030 in order to achieve its energy
independence targets, which Marchand noted "is not surprising as fossil
fuel-based thermal generation currently accounts for 94 percent of
energy generation."
Cuba has more than 11 million
consumers, "a market almost the size of Ohio," which Marchand
contended,"makes it interesting to understand what is the real consumer
opportunity."
Identifying a huge retail potential
if the US embargo of the island is lifted, the report pointed to the
Havana Consulting Group which estimates that the diaspora shipped $3.5
billion in goods to Cuba in 2013.
"It
would be interesting to see what those figures could look like if the
Cubans could actually buy those goods on the local market," mused
Marchand.
In the oil and gas sector, Cuba claims it
has 20 billion barrels of oil offshore, while the US Geological Survey
estimates the figure could be as low as 5 billion.
The
report cautioned, however, that actually finding commercially viable
oil has been a challenge, particularly since there are only a few rigs
in the world that can comply with the US embargo and actually drill in
Cuban waters. However, a new policy landscape could change this.
While
the US is just starting to normalize relations after five decades, the
Cuba Outlook reported Brazil's confidence in the future of Cuba's ports
was clear after their national development bank, BNDES, provided more
than US $680 million in funding for the Mariel port build-out, to ensure
it can receive post-Panamax vessels.
"Most people
in North America would be surprised to learn that healthcare exports are
the top source of foreign currency for Cuba, even before tourism,"
asserted Marchand, "and that the Cuban pharmaceuticals and biotech
sectors have been successfully growing their global footprint."
"The
trade embargo of Cuba over the last half a Century has prevented the US
investment community from benefiting from up-to-the minute intelligence
from this important market," noted Marchand, "so we are determined to
help our investors catch up with the significant developments and huge
opportunities on the island."
The general market sentiment is that there is a lot to learn about Cuba, which is the purpose of this report, she concluded.
The report is available at a deep discount through the Global News Matters website at:https://globalnewsmatters.
com/shop/cuba-business-
outlook-december-2014.
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