Search results for: MSME

The U.S. Project to Help Small Businesses Within Cuba is Controversial

14ymedio, Madrid, 19 September 2023 — The Biden government plans to announce this week the lifting of restrictions to help Cuban micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), according to knowledgeable sources in several American media. Both the Palm Beach Post on Saturday and the Bloomberg agency on Monday indicated that these are “specific guidelines” for … Continue reading “The U.S. Project to Help Small Businesses Within Cuba is Controversial”

The Price of US Chicken Rises, Imports to Cuba Fall

14ymedio, Madrid, 8 September 2023 — The price of a kilo of chicken that Cuba imports from the United States continues to rise and stood at $1.23 USD in July, 3.4% more than the previous month ($1.19) and 38% more than in May, when it barely cost $0.89. In this context, imports were reduced compared … Continue reading “The Price of US Chicken Rises, Imports to Cuba Fall”

An Issue of High-Denomination Banknotes in Cuba Will Come Out This Month, Says a Bank Source

14ymedio, Havana, 8 September 2023 — Cuba will once again manufacture high-denomination banknotes that will circulate this month to alleviate the cash crisis that the Island suffers. The data was revealed to the official press by an official of the Banco Popular de Ahorro (BPA) of the town of Santa Fe, on the Isla de … Continue reading “An Issue of High-Denomination Banknotes in Cuba Will Come Out This Month, Says a Bank Source”

The Increase in Products Available in Private Markets in Cuba Contributed to Moderating Inflation in July

14ymedio, Madrid, 21 August 2023 — Inflation continues to rise in Cuba according to official data, although its rise is moderate. In July, the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 1.06%, less than half of the previous month (2.46%) and the year-on-year variation was 41.7%, compared to 45% in June. In addition, for the first … Continue reading “The Increase in Products Available in Private Markets in Cuba Contributed to Moderating Inflation in July”

Sales by Cuba’s Private Businesses Tripled in the First Half of the Year

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, August 25, 2023 — Sales of goods and services by Cuba’s micro, small and medium-sized private businesses (MSMEs) tripled in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year according to a report issued by Cuba’s National Statistics and Information Office (ONEI) on Friday. However, the total sales … Continue reading “Sales by Cuba’s Private Businesses Tripled in the First Half of the Year”

Moscow Is Involved in the Digitization of Fiscal Control for Private Businesses in Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 26 August 2023 — In the midst of the process of bancarización* [banking reform] of transactions in Cuba, a group of Russian experts advises the Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Ricardo Cabrisas, on issues of “digitalization of fiscal control and electronic banking.” His proposal: the foundation of a Business Development … Continue reading “Moscow Is Involved in the Digitization of Fiscal Control for Private Businesses in Cuba”

Black Market Alternatives and a Nationwide Cash Shortage Force Cuba’s Currency Exchange Bureaus to Close

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, August 24, 2023 — A few years ago, its windows displayed the exchange rates of various foreign currencies. Those signs have since been replaced with drawings of children’s faces welcoming customers to what had been the Cadeca currency exchange bureau on the corner of Obispo and Compostela streets in Old … Continue reading “Black Market Alternatives and a Nationwide Cash Shortage Force Cuba’s Currency Exchange Bureaus to Close”

Cuba’s Banking Reform Put on Hold and Another Experiment Bites the Dust

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, August 10, 2023 — Not surprisingly, recently announced government banking regulations have aroused a myriad of fears among the business community and Cuban society at large. And the regime, which has been sensitive to any sign of social unrest since the mass protest of July 11, 2021 has not come … Continue reading “Cuba’s Banking Reform Put on Hold and Another Experiment Bites the Dust”

Self-Employed in Cuba Will Pay in Eight Times More to Social Security

14ymedio, Madrid, 10 August 2023 — The countdown to the increase in the contribution of self-employed and cooperative members has begun and adapts to the new prices that arrived as a result of the Ordering Task.* Between October and December, all such workers must participate in the special social security regime that was approved in … Continue reading “Self-Employed in Cuba Will Pay in Eight Times More to Social Security”

Cuba, A Container Economy

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 12 August 2023 – Huge, refrigerated and with seals that reveal its journey through the seas of the world, this is the container that has arrived in our Havana neighborhood. The elongated mass has become, in a few days, the center of rumors, hopes and criticism. “It belongs to … Continue reading “Cuba, A Container Economy”

To Have or Not to Have Private Businesses

14ymedio, Yunior Garcia Aguilera, Madrid, 9 August 2023 — No one hated private business in Cuba more than Fidel Castro. In his 1968 speech announcing the Revolutionary Offensive, which nationalized all remaining small private businesses in the country, he called business owners lazy, hangers-on, exploiters, privileged and lazy. Spooked by his own shadow, he vented … Continue reading “To Have or Not to Have Private Businesses”

Fishers and Farmers Are Exempt, for Now, From Cuba’s ‘Bankification’

14ymedio, Madrid/Havana, 10 August 2023 — “Bankification will advance in places where conditions exist,” said Julio Antonio Pérez Álvarez, general director of Operations and Payment Systems of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) in a new edition of the Round Table program dedicated to the financial measures that have revolutionized the warm Cuban August. The … Continue reading “Fishers and Farmers Are Exempt, for Now, From Cuba’s ‘Bankification’”

Cuban Authorities Promise That It Will Be Possible To Pay in Cash, Except at Hotels

14ymedio, Madrid, 8 August 2023 — “An hour and a half of more talking about the same thing, pondering a decree that in itself is good but in the general context is useless.” This is the assessment of a reader of the official Cubadebate about the appearance of the president and the vice president of … Continue reading “Cuban Authorities Promise That It Will Be Possible To Pay in Cash, Except at Hotels”

‘Bankification’ is Economic Repression in Cuba

Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, August 4, 2023 — Who benefits from the ’bankification’ of the Cuban economy? This question has been going around since the Regime, using an entity at its service, the Central Bank of Cuba, has announced measures that aim to reduce the circulation of cash and get economic actors to use electronic … Continue reading “‘Bankification’ is Economic Repression in Cuba”

New Design Law Prohibits Using Cuban Symbols Without Authorization From a State ‘Advisor’

14ymedio, Havana, August 2, 2023 — Far from freeing the economy and easing state restrictions on private individuals from, the government insists on enacting laws that further control the Cuban economy. This Tuesday the Official Gazette published a decree of the Council of Ministers that regulates industrial design and visual communication in Cuba. The law, which provides … Continue reading “New Design Law Prohibits Using Cuban Symbols Without Authorization From a State ‘Advisor’”