At present time, only a small number of foreign companies established in Mariel.
The Diplomat. 27/01/2016
Directors of the CEOE (Confederation of Spanish Industries) and high level personnel at the Spanish Ministries of Economy and of Foreign Affairs held a meeting yesterday in Madrid to analyse the opportunities for business for Spanish companies as a consequence of the opening up of Cuba.
Among those present at the meeting were the Vice-president of the CEOE and President of the International Relations Committee, Joaquim Gay de Montellà; the Director-General for Latin America, Pablo Gómez de Olea, and the Director-General of International Trade, Antonio Fernández-Martos, together with representatives of Spanish organisations and companies.
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CEOE directors meet high level personnel from Economy and Foreign Affairs
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According to a note from the CEOE, Gay de Montellà indicated that Cuba is a window opening onto the Caribbean and the eastern coast of the United States, and this would be a huge market for overseas investment.
The CEOE Vice-president spoke of the large presence of Spanish companies in the Island, particularly in the hotel sector and stressed that the opportunities available in the Mariel special development zone project, 45 kilometres from Havana, offer fiscal and corporative advantages for companies that decide to establish themselves there.
At the present time, only a small number of foreign companies have established themselves in Mariel, among them the Spanish Hotelsa, engaged in the manufacture of food and beverage products for hotels, which was the first to announce its intention of doing so.
Last week, on the occasion of FITUR, the Cuban Minister of Tourism, Manuel Marrero Cruz, urged Spanish businesses to establish themselves in the Island, operating in sectors relating to tourism such as construction, transport, energy, the environment and agricultural and agribusiness..
Marrero, who met with the Secretary of State for Tourism, Isabel Borrego, her counterpart from Trade, Jaime García-Legaz, and Gay de Montellà, himself, said that in Cuba “there is good security in all spheres” and indicated that Spanish tourism to the Islands rose by 37,5% last year, with 107.000 visitors. He also added that “there are 14 well preserved national parks, 257 national monuments and it is envisaged that 21.000 hotel rooms will be constructed over the next four years”.
