OPPORTUNITY FOR NORTH CAROLINA BUSINESSES IN CUBA?

OPPORTUNITY FOR NORTH CAROLINA BUSINESSES IN CUBA?
By Steve Daniels
Wednesday, September 23, 2015 09:37PM

HAVANA (WTVD) -- American businesses, large and small, are scrambling to
cash-in on new opportunities to make money in Cuba.

The Obama Administration just relaxed some parts of the U.S. economic
embargo on Cuba, creating a new market of eleven million people just
ninety miles from Florida.

"Every day, we get new calls and new inquiries and folks looking to come
down and take a look and see what can be done," said Dana Brown, the
Political and Economic Counselor at the United States Embassy in Havana.

Brown is the person to call if you want to do business in Cuba.

"This is a first for U.S. companies to finally be able to have this kind
of engagement and be early arrivers in a brand-new market, so people are
quite thrilled and excited to be here," said Brown.

We discovered that when you look around Havana there is a lot of
potential for American businesses to do well.

Beautiful colonial buildings are dilapidated and in need of renovation,
the infrastructure is crumbling, and in many ways Cuba is stuck in the
1960s and ready to move forward with American investors.

Brown says the Cuban government is hoping for investment in
telecommunications, internet infrastructure and real estate projects.

"I know that is something that is of great interest to the Cuban
government and very, very welcome. There's a lot of interest in seeing
increased investment participation and presence by U.S. companies,"
Brown said.

We discovered that North Carolina poultry companies are already making
money in Cuban government bodegas, the stores where Cubans use their
food ration booklet to get chicken.

Last year, North Carolina poultry companies exported nearly $10 million
in products to Cuba.

Brown says Cubans are hungry for American consumer products too, even
though the average monthly salary is only $20.

"There are so many things that the United States produces. We have goods
at all price points. We have goods that are very appealing to a country
that is looking to expand and broaden its connection to the rest of the
world, so I think there's a lot of opportunity," Brown added.

Brown urges businesses to follow Treasury Department and Commerce
Department regulations to make sure they are in compliance with federal law.

Source: Opportunity for North Carolina businesses in Cuba? | abc11.com -
http://abc11.com/business/opportunity-for-north-carolina-businesses-in-cuba/999110/