• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 08 / 29 / 2010

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August 28th, 2010 6:55 am ET. The door to investment in Cuba has just been opened.On Thursday and Friday of this past week, the Cuban government announced the passage of two important pieces of legislation.  

The first allows foreign investors to lease government-owned land for up to 99 years.  This is a real sea change in the economics of the country.  It is likely that this will result in the development of resort properties and golf courses all over the island.  Because the new law establishes a lease for years, it is viewed by the Cuban government as being a more secure arrangement for foreign investors, while maintaining ultimate control (at the end of the term) in the hands of the government.

With the bent of the exile community in Miami, one can also anticipate that there will be a flood of new investment by Miami Cubans.  The risk in this, of course, is that, in their zeal to influence the politics of the country, they end up getting
themselves into trouble with the government and losing their investment. 

On the other hand, if they are judicious in what they  do, they will have a tremendous opportunity to influence the people and the government over a period of time, particularly as their economic contribution to the country grows. 

The other change that was announced last week was that Cubans can now grow and resell their own fruit and produce, which is effectively the introduction of permission to be a capitalist.  This is a remarkable departure from previous government policy, and it may well indicate that the government is preparing to introduce other economic reforms.

For those of us on the mainland, this also represents a good investment opportunity, as those companies that intend to take advantage of the changes move business operations into Cuba.  Those that are there early and identify clearly the markets they wish to serve and how best to serve them will profit in a very big way.

Now, we need to see how the Obama administration and Congress are going to respond to this opening in Cuba, with enabling legislation by Congress, this can be a major windfall for American business and a creator of jobs and taxes.

Source: www.examiner.com