In a significant policy shift, the Cuban government has unveiled comprehensive measures to revitalize foreign investment as a cornerstone of its economic strategy. The announcement came during the 8th Investment Forum at the 41st Havana International Fair, where Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga outlined sweeping reforms designed to create a more dynamic business environment.
The new framework introduces substantial monetary flexibility, allowing dual currency operations in both national and foreign currencies according to investor needs. Foreign investment enterprises will be encouraged to focus on generating foreign income through exports or sales to domestic sectors with foreign currency capabilities. The government will establish ‘more competitive and realistic’ foreign exchange rates across certain sectors and permit companies to maintain offshore bank accounts to circumvent blockade-related financial restrictions.
Procedural simplifications represent another major component of the reform package. The requirement for feasibility studies has been eliminated in favor of business plans, evaluation timelines have been halved from 15 to 7 days, and ‘positive silence’ provisions will automatically approve applications if agencies fail to respond within specified periods. Documentary requirements have been streamlined to essential documents only, and property appraisal validations have been extended beyond one year.
Novel investment modalities include automatic establishment of wholly foreign-owned companies for hotel leasing tenders, reactivation of underutilized national assets with profit-sharing arrangements, unrestricted wholesale trading rights, and direct fuel import authorization when domestic supplies are unavailable. Labor reforms grant investors final hiring decisions, while permitting foreign currency bonus payments from profits generated through external income.
The government is actively promoting foreign participation in banking and financial services while continuing development of special economic zones for targeted sectors like real estate and technology parks. Innovative financial instruments include selective swap operations—not merely for debt repayment but structured around sustainable businesses generating foreign currency income.
Deputy Prime Minister Pérez-Oliva identified food production and knowledge economy sectors as strategic priorities, citing successful Vietnamese rice production partnerships as models. The administration is promoting ‘flexible and simpler business models’ to rapidly increase food output while leveraging Cuba’s skilled workforce in IT, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries.
The updated investment portfolio features 426 projects across all provinces, with emphasis on food production, industry, tourism, and energy—particularly oil exploration and extraction. Eighty-three high-priority projects have been selected for their export potential.
Yanet Vázquez Valdés, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, clarified that while direct hiring remains exceptional, the state employment agency system remains the general rule. These measures will inform a new Foreign Investment Law creating legal frameworks for partnerships between state-owned enterprises and non-state sectors, combining resources to rescue installed capacities and drive economic growth.
Regarding debt management, officials emphasized that swap operations won’t involve asset-for-debt exchanges but rather negotiate medium-to-long-term business arrangements that simultaneously reduce foreign company debts while contributing to economic expansion.