• Submitted by: Camila
• Business and Economy
• 02 / 25 / 2015

---

Interested in the opportunities that Cuba offers to foreign investment in tourism, Chinese companies are trading with Cuba the creation of joint ventures for the development of real estate complexes and hotels.

Ma Kequian, economic and commercial counselor of the Embassy of China in Cuba, told AIN that the firm expects Beijing Enterprises Holdings Limited, next to Palmares Cuban group, creating a large estate, including a five star hotel and golf courses, Bellomonte area, east of Havana.

Both sides have already agreed and ready to be mixed, said the diplomat, just waiting for approval from the Cuban authorities with a view to begin early project development.

The other business value with proprietary Island is building a hotel in the Residential Marina Hemingway, west of the capital, the foreign investor is the Chinese company Suntime, Ma Kequian reported.

About this project, José Daniel Alonso, Director of Business Tourism Ministry, confirmed that Chinese corporation and has formed a joint venture with the Cubanacan group to start this year, if possible investment.

Ma Kequian considered that such actions will strengthen bilateral relations, while sharing other nontraditional such as tourism and investment sectors expands.

In keeping with the news a few weeks ago Air China confirmed its interest in establishing for September next direct flights between Beijing and Havana, which contribute to increasing Chinese visit to the island, said the official.

In fact, China was among the fastest growing outbound markets in 2014, with the arrival of the Antillean archipelago of 28,239 travelers, an increase of 27 percent to that achieved in 2013, according to the National Bureau of Statistics and Information.

About projections for 2015, the representative of the diplomatic mission in Havana said they expect to recover growth rates in trade, collapsed amid falling nickel prices in the international market, one of the main export items from Cuba to Asia.

For the ninth consecutive year, China appeared in 2014 as the first commercial partner of Cuba in that region and the second globally, with bilateral trade that currently stands at 1 800 million.

Source: Juventud Rebelde