State to help SA companies in Cuba

'State to help SA companies in Cuba'
November 8 2015 at 06:40am
By ANA

Pretoria – Government would support companies wanting to take advantage
of trade and investment opportunities in Cuba, Deputy Trade and Industry
Minister Mzwandile Masina said on Saturday.

Masina returned to South Africa on Thursday after leading a 35-member
business delegation, comprising of exporters and investors, to Cuba.

The exporters participated in the 33rd Havana International Trade Fair
while a group of investors were part of the first investment mission to
Cuba to be organised by the trade and industry department (dti).

"In all our interactions with the Cubans during the two visits that I
undertook to Cuba in a week, we have been reiterating the same message
that we need to strengthen our economic relations and work hard in order
to increase bilateral trade between the two countries," Masina said in a
statement.

"I was inspired by the commitment expressed by both the government and
business leaders of Cuba to achieving this goal. We are all sharing the
same view that our strong and cordial political relations must be
underpinned by tangible growth in trade and investment between the two
countries," he said.

Masina cited the Doing Business in Cuba seminar hosted by the dti in
Pretoria in September, last week's official visit to Cuba by Deputy
President Cyril Ramaphosa, which he was part of, and the trade and
investment mission he led to Cuba this week as some of the initiatives
government had taken to boost economic relations with Cuba.

"Some of the companies that we took to Cuba this week had their first
contact with the Cubans during the inward mission by the Cubans that our
department organised. It was through this interaction that they
identified areas of co-operation, possible joint ventures, and
partnerships. They then went to Cuba to take their discussions forward
and I am hoping to hear good stories from them when they return home,"
Masina said.

While in Cuba, Masina had told the South African business people who
were in the country to seek investment and trade opportunities that
government would support them in their endeavours to invest in Cuba or
trade with Cuba.

He said it should be reassuring to the companies to learn that their
investments would be protected in Cuba, as the country had unveiled a
new investment law containing a legal framework that guaranteed the
protection and security of foreign investments.

He said that in addition to the protection provided by the new Cuban
legislation and the bilateral treaty on protection and promotion of
investments between the two countries, South African companies would
also receive guarantees from the Export Credit and Insurance Corporation
(ECIC).

The ECIC is an agency of the dti responsible for insuring the export
component of investments made by South African companies abroad.

The Cuban government had published a portfolio of investment
opportunities containing 326 projects worth more than US8.1 billion in
12 sectors of the country's economy with the aim of attracting foreign
investments.

The priority sectors included tourism, construction, agriculture,
transport, health, renewable energy, mining, agriculture, and
pharmaceuticals.

– African News Agency (ANA)

Source: 'State to help SA companies in Cuba' - Business News | IOL
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http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/state-to-help-sa-companies-in-cuba-1.1942214#.Vj9Z8_mrTjY