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.
RIP Dominica
This is a comprehensive report and one that I have seen debated by policy analyst over the last few years both in print and on television.
Shaka Zula is correct about new out-migration from Dominica, especially by Dominican nationals who were trained in Cuba and who are married to Cuban nationals.
How can Dominica benefit from this change in policy? Well the jury is still out. I have always described Dominica as an island-nation of continuous missed opportunities. Eventually, there will be a change in leadership as both Castro brothers are well into their 80s.
We do not know if the new leadership, whenever it comes to pass, will extend the same olive-branch to OECS islands like Dominica as they have done in the past, or if they will focus entirely on their nation with a view to changing its landscape and ushering in some form of “Capitalism” with renewed gusto.
The US Embassy in Cuba now processes some 500 request for travel visas to the US mainland daily. Eco tourism destinations like Dominica are unable to benefit from any interest in Cuba’s neighbors because of a crappy airport unable to accommodate larger aircraft.
Once again, old conservative ideas about how we should have positioned ourselves will be haunting us in broad daylight. Those who continue to preach conservative status-quo ideas whose time were never relevant to Dominica’s growth and development will be pleased when their ideas and advocacy continues to keep Dominica down in the pits as an irrelevant island-nation.
I sometimes wonder when our citizenry will wake up and realize that the world we live in is far more complex than either loving or hating both Skerrit and Linton respectively. What these politicians and their surrogates continue to perpetrate in Dominica is mind- boggling.
News of the change in policy between the US and Cuba is a few days old now and one would believe that there would be some of type of response from either the OECS Secretariat or some of the individual islands. To date, silence continues to echo on DNO and the continuous divisive political rhetoric and pandering for adulation amongst the masses continues without abatement.
It would be quite refreshing to read some policy paper, analysis or some type of road map for Dominica-Cuba relations from some of our celebrity academics both far and near. But, of course they are delinquent with specifics or any plan tailored specifically for her advancement.
It won’t be long before another empty academic paper is produced and circulated on DNO, going unchallenged by a citizenry who were taught to worship and ogle brilliance instead of asking, what can you do for me and what have you done for me lately or how can you help me with my future?
Everything is about money.
Of course it is dear, even in the church and I have never know a communist refuse an American Dollar. Would you?
Guess what. Since we have not put ourselves in a position to gain a share of the market we are going to be the biggest loosers. Keep on begging and telling your people they are worth nothing. We will soon see another wave of migration out of Dominica especially those former Cuban students who are married to Cuban nationals. All the posturing about US should loose embargo on Cuba. Now it’s starting to take fold will benifit the US mainly since they build, the cars, the oil rigs, they have technology and money and most of all have most of the Cuban ex pats with money, influence and a direct connection.
Where will Dominica be in all this?
The same place it is now….nowhere.
I’m afraid we are insignificant, despite the water head we have at the head at our nation.