ECONOMIC EYE ON CUBA©

ECONOMIC EYE ON CUBA© Index

7 September 1998 to 13 September 1998
 

Exchange Rates Unchanged-1
National Bank Of Cuba Exchange Rates-2

Another New Licensing Record By The OFAC-2

United States Corporate Donation Policy Update-3

USTR Makes Trademark Inquiry To The Dominican Republic-3

FAA Estimates Cuba Owes US$1 Million For Overflight Fees-4

Guatemala To Sign Investment Protection And Promotion Agreement-4

Medical Equipment, Pharmaceutical Sectors Available For Direct Foreign Investment-4

Biotechnology Sector Unavailable For Direct Foreign Investment-5

Biotechnology Sector Export Prospects, Current Revenues, And Budget-5

Malaysia Companies Sign Biotechnology And Pharmaceutical Agreement-6

German Company Has Veterinary Medicines Agreement-6

Tourist Arrivals Near One Million-6

Havana’s Melia Cohiba Reports Record Revenues-6

Virtual Reality Tourism Promotion-6

Cigar Production Update-6

Total “Private” Sector Employed Is Reported To Be More Than 300,000-7

UNDP Ranks Cuba 85th Of 174 Countries In Human Development-8

13.1% Of Cuba’s Population More Than 60 Years Of Age-8

Clarification-8

Speaking Schedule-8

Annual Member Luncheon Update-9


 


EXCHANGE RATES UNCHANGED- Republic of Cuba government-operated Cajas de Cambio S.A. (CADECA) sold the Convertible Peso, equal to one U.S. Dollar, for 21 Pesos and purchased the U.S. Dollar for 21 Pesos, as it has since 15 July 1998.  CADECA purchased the U.S. Dollar for 19 Pesos and sold the U.S. Dollar for 21 Pesos from 1 April 1998 to 14 July 1998.  CADECA purchased the U.S. Dollar for 20 Pesos and sold the U.S. Dollar for 22 Pesos from 12 March 1998 to 31 March 1998.  CADECA purchased the U.S. Dollar for 21 Pesos and sold the U.S. Dollar for 23 Pesos from 11 February 1998 to 11 March 1998.  CADECA purchased and sold the U.S. Dollar for 23 Pesos from August 1997 through 10 February 1998.  CADECA purchased the U.S. Dollar for 24 Pesos and sold the U.S. Dollar for 24 Pesos in August 1996.  The official international exchange rate of one Peso to one U.S. Dollar, in effect for more than thirty years, remained unchanged.  The government maintains a fixed exchange rate for its international dealings and a more flexible exchange rate for domestic use.  The government does not fluctuate the value of the Peso for commercial transactions regardless of any fluctuation with the value of the U.S. Dollar or other currencies on the international market.  The Peso and the U.S. Dollar circulate freely in the Republic of Cuba.

NATIONAL BANK OF CUBA EXCHANGE RATES- The following are the biweekly official exchange rates between the Republic of Cuba Convertible Peso, equal to one U.S. Dollar, and selected international currencies as of 11 September 1998.  The National Bank of the Republic of Cuba cautions that these rates do not necessarily reflect the exchange rates at all Republic of Cuba government-operated banks as each bank is authorized to establish its own exchange rates.
 

Country and Currency
Rate of Exchange
Austria- Shilling
.0816
Denmark- Krone
.1508
Norway- Krone
.1286
Sweden- Krona
.1243
Australia- Dollar
 .5837
Canada- Dollar
 .6558
United States- Dollar
1.000
Portugal- Escudo
.00056
The Netherlands- Guilder
 .5090
Belgium- Franc
.0279
France- Franc
.1713
Switzerland- Franc
.6992
United Kingdom- Pound Sterling
1.6552
Italy- Lira
.0582
Germany- Mark
.5743
Finland- Markka
.1890
Spain- Peseta
 .0068
Mexico- Peso
.0924
Japan- Yen
 .7262

ANOTHER NEW LICENSING RECORD BY THE OFAC- After recently processing a license in seven days, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C., has processed a license request in four days for representatives of a group of United States-based healthcare products companies to visit the Republic of Cuba for the purpose of meeting with representatives of entities associated with the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) of the Republic of Cuba.  The process for United States-based companies to obtain a license from the OFAC has been to 1) mail a license application to the OFAC 2) Upon receipt of a license application, the OFAC will send to the applicant a form-response indicating that the application has been received and including a reference number for the application.  The form-response will also state that if the applicant has not heard from the OFAC within thirty days, that the applicant should once again contact the OFAC.  3) The United States-based company would expect to wait from two weeks to thirty days to receive a license from the OFAC.  Directly as a result of an almost twenty-four-month effort by the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, representatives of United States-based healthcare companies have, since October 1996, been permitted under license from the OFAC to visit the Republic of Cuba for the purpose of seeking sales opportunities.  These visits have also included authorization to temporarily export healthcare product samples for demonstration purposes after obtaining a temporary export license from the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) of the United States Department of Commerce.  Member companies of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council were the recipients of the first, second, and third, as well as, the majority of all of the issued licenses to date by the OFAC authorizing travel by company representatives to the Republic of Cuba for the purpose of exploring sales opportunities for medical equipment, medical instrument, medical supply, and pharmaceutical products.  A member company of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council was the recipient of the first license issued by the BXA authorizing temporary export of medical equipment to the Republic of Cuba for demonstration purposes during discussions to explore sales opportunities.

UNITED STATES CORPORATE DONATION POLICY UPDATE- The United States government permits United States-based companies to donate healthcare products and food products to the people of the Republic of Cuba.  The United States government permits United States-based companies to sell healthcare products for use by the people of the Republic of Cuba.  The United States government does not permit United States-based companies to sell food products for use by the people of the Republic of Cuba.  United States-based companies may donate healthcare products and food products directly to a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) within the Republic of Cuba, such as Caritas Cubana (which represents the Roman Catholic Church) or the Red Cross, for example.  United States-based companies may donate healthcare products and food products to a United States-based NGO which would then transport to the Republic of Cuba and distribute the donation within the Republic of Cuba.  An increasing number of United States-based companies are finding substantive marketing value within the Republic of Cuba can be gained by making donations directly.  Healthcare product donations to the Republic of Cuba require a license from the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) of the United States Department of Commerce.  Food product donations require a license from the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) of the United States Department of Commerce.  Healthcare products and food products may be transported directly from the United States to the Republic of Cuba by air or by sea. The United States Department of State provides authorization for vessels to travel from the United States to the Republic of Cuba and to return directly from the Republic of Cuba to the United States.  The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury provides licenses for individuals (in this case, representatives of United States-based companies) subject to United States law to visit the Republic of Cuba in conjunction with the arrival, distribution, and subsequent monitoring of a donation of healthcare products and/or food products to an NGO within the Republic of Cuba.

USTR MAKES TRADEMARK INQUIRY TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC- The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), at the request of the Patent and Trademark Office within the United States Department of Commerce, made an inquiry to the government of the Dominican Republic in August 1998 in advance of the visit of H.E. Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Republic of Cuba.  At the request of a United States-based company with a consumer product trademark registered within the Dominican Republic, the USTR “reminded” the government of the Dominican Republic as to the ownership of the particular trademark “just in case” the government of the Dominican Republic “decided to make a gesture to” President Castro in conjunction with his visit to the Dominican Republic.  The United States-based company was concerned that the government of the Dominican Republic might assign the rights for the trademark to a Republic of Cuba government-operated entity as a demonstration of a continued improvement in the commercial, economic, and political relationship between the two countries.  The Dominican Republic and Republic of Cuba restored diplomatic relations earlier this year, after more than thirty five years.  The Dominican  Republic was the last of the independent Caribbean Sea-area countries to restore diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cuba, although unofficial economic and cultural relations have strengthened during the last few years, with bilateral trade reported to have been US$60 million in 1997.

FAA ESTIMATES CUBA OWES US$1 MILLION FOR OVERFLIGHT FEES- Information obtained from an inquiry to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) within the United States Department of Transportation by the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council shows that Republic of Cuba government-operated Cubana Airlines and Republic of Cuba government-operated AeroCaribbean Airlines were invoiced approximately US$1 million by the FAA for the period May 1997 to 31 January 1998 for overflight fees.  The invoices were not, however, sent to the Republic of Cuba.  The FAA reports that Cubana Airlines flights and AeroCaribbean Airlines flights continually use the services of the FAA for their operations within the Caribbean Sea-area and the Caribbean Basin-area.  In March 1997, the FAA issued an Interim Final Rule which established fees for aircraft that transit, but neither land nor take-off from the United States.  Subsequently, non-United States-based airlines challenged the Interim Final Rule on the basis of its methodology for determining the overflight fees.  One result of the legal challenge to the Interim Final Rule was that all non-United States-based airlines for which the FAA had prepared invoices for overflights for the period May 1997 to 31 January 1998 would not have to pay those invoices, even if they, the airlines, had been presented with invoices by the FAA.  The FAA expects to submit a revised Interim Final Rule in 1999.  The United States had never before sought overflight fees from non-United States-based airlines, but the United States Congress directed the FAA to seek new revenue opportunities.  Other countries charge overflight fees based upon authorizations contained within the Chicago Convention and the Montreal, Canada-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) under the auspice of the United Nations (UN).  The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury permits United States-based airlines to make overflight payments to the Institute of Civil Aeronautics (IACC) of the Republic of Cuba.  Such payments total approximately US$6 million annually and are paid by United States-based airlines including Houston, Texas-based Continental Airlines, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, Texas-based American Airlines, and Elk Grove Township, Illinois-based United Airlines, among others.

GUATEMALA TO SIGN INVESTMENT PROTECTION AND PROMOTION AGREEMENT- H.E. Luis Flores Asturias, Vice President of Guatemala, and H.E. Eduardo Stein, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, is expected to arrive in the Republic of Cuba on 16 September 1998 along with a fifty-member business representative delegation.  The government of Guatemala and the government of the Republic of Cuba are expected to sign an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement and various other cooperation agreements.  The Republic of Cuba has more than thirty Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements with countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Argentina, and Italy among others.  The two countries resumed diplomatic relations in January 1998 after a 36-year hiatus.

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR AVAILABLE FOR DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENT-  Mr. Jose Carlos Alvarez, Commercial Director of Republic of Cuba government-operated IMEFA (which represents the medical equipment and pharmaceutical industries), under the auspice of the Ministry of Public Health of the Republic of Cuba, is seeking direct investment from non-Republic of Cuba-based companies for the production of raw materials used in various pharmaceuticals, from antibiotics and cytostatics to steroids; and for the initiation and expansion of the production of various medical supplies such as blood bags, parenteral instruments, surgical sutures, disposable syringes, blood extractors, blood transfusion equipment, probes, and catheters.  Mr. Alvarez said that prospective providers of direct investment should be capable of providing financing, technology, and markets.  In an interview with the monthly magazine, Business Tips on Cuba, he said that two examples of direct investment were: 1) a joint venture, GIST BROCADES, with capital from an unidentified non-Republic of Cuba-based pharmaceutical company, produced antibiotics and 2) an economic association with Italy-based Moroni to produce sanitary napkins.  Mr. Alvarez reported that other projects in the advanced stages of negotiations.

BIOTECHNOLOGY SECTOR UNAVAILABLE FOR DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENT-  H.E. Dr. Rosa Elena Simeon, Minister of Science, Environment, and Technology of the Republic of Cuba, said that direct foreign investment in the biotechnology sector would not be permitted, “although contracts are signed for the marketing abroad of some products that require a special market orientation.”  According to Law No. 77 enacted in 1995 by the National Assembly of People’s Power of the Republic of Cuba, the Republic of Cuba permits direct foreign investment in all sectors of the economy with the exception of: the military and national security; domestic health care; and education.  Minister Simeon explained the contradiction in an interview with the monthly magazine, Business Tips on Cuba.  “We cannot open up to direct investment a field whose development has cost us so much in human and material resources, but in the sale abroad of the results of these efforts, it is often essential to rely on the help of entities or persons with know how and prestige in a very sensitive and specialized market.”  Despite the comments of Minister Simeon, senior-level officials of the government of the Republic of Cuba acknowledge that direct foreign investment in the biotechnology sector is essential for the country to recoup its investment in equipment and as a strategy toward seeking to retain within the Republic of Cuba those Republic of Cuba nationals who have, in an increasing number of instances, been identified by non-Republic of Cuba-based healthcare companies as potential employees who can be encouraged to leave the Republic of Cuba by access to higher salaries, more research funds, and state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.

BIOTECHNOLOGY SECTOR EXPORT PROSPECTS, CURRENT REVENUES, AND BUDGET-  H.E. Dr. Rosa Elena Simeon, Minister of Science, Environment, and Technology of the Republic of Cuba, said that the biotechnology sector had the potential to export between US$800 million and US$1 billion in human-related, animal-related, and plant-related products during the next five years.  The government of the Republic of Cuba has previously reported substantial increases in pharmaceutical exports, particularly to countries in Latin America, Africa, and to the Middle East.  The government of the Republic of Cuba has been using pharmaceutical product exports as one means of repaying foreign debt, particularly to countries within Latin America.  Previously-provided pharmaceutical export U.S. Dollar values from senior-level sources within the government of the Republic of Cuba have been as high as US$290 million for 1997, but the National Statistics Office (NSO) of the Republic of Cuba recently published that 1996 gross revenues were US$102.312 million.  Minister Simeon explained in an interview with the monthly magazine, Business Tips on Cuba, that the 1998 U.S. Dollar budget of the Republic of Cuba biotechnology sector was between US$50 million and US$70 million.

MALAYSIA COMPANIES SIGN BIOTECHNOLOGY AND PHARMACEUTICAL AGREEMENT- A consortium of Malaysia-based companies and the government of the Republic of Cuba signed a letter of intent on 9 September 1998.  The purpose of the agreement is to market Republic of Cuba-produced biotechnology products and Republic of Cuba-produced pharmaceutical products throughout Asia.  The consortium includes Malaysia-based companies: Yayasan Pelajaran Johor sdn bhd, Floreat, and kumpulan Sungai Chat; and Republic of Cuba government-operated Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, under the auspice of Dr. Manuel Limonta Vidal.

GERMAN COMPANY HAS VETERINARY MEDICINES AGREEMENT-  The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Cuba and Germany based Bremar Pharma have signed an  agreement to jointly produce and market veterinarian medicines for the Republic of Cuba domestic market and for export.  The principal product to be produced is a vaccine against Bovine Tic disease.

TOURIST ARRIVALS NEAR ONE MILLION-  Sources within the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Cuba reported (officially) that tourist arrivals would reach one million on or around 20 September 1998, compared to tourist arrivals of approximately one million by 17 November 1997.  The sources said that tourist arrivals for 1998 will be the planned 1.4 million.  The Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Cuba is focusing upon the medium to long range impact of the continuing, and in some cases, increasing economic crisis within those countries from which the Republic of Cuba receives its tourist arrivals.  To date, there has been a reported decline in tourist arrivals from Latin America.  Gross direct and indirect tourism revenues for 1998 are expected to be US$1.75 billion, although officials of the government of the Republic of Cuba have also reported that planned gross direct and indirect tourism revenues for 1998 would be US$2 billion.  In 1997, 1.17 million tourists visited the Republic of Cuba, generating gross direct and indirect revenues of approximately US$1.5 billion.

HAVANA’S MELIA COHIBA REPORTS RECORD REVENUES- Mr. Carlos Villota, General Manager of Havana’s Melia Cohiba Hotel, said that from January 1998 through August 1998 the property had earned gross revenues of approximately US$18 million, of which US$8 million was gross profit.  Mr. Villota said that with a daily occupancy rate averaging 83%, the property’s 1998 gross revenue plan of US$26 million would be achieved.  Madrid, Spain-based Grupo Sol Melia manages the Melia Cohiba, which is owned by Republic of Cuba government operated Cubanacan S.A..  Grupo Sol Melia manages, and, in some cases, has a direct or indirect investment in, 11 properties within the Republic of Cuba, with plans to expand the number of properties to a total of twenty-five by the year 2001.

VIRTUAL REALITY TOURISM PROMOTION-  Italy-based Grupo Ostiensis Viaggi, in conjunction with other Italy-based companies, including Telecom Italia (a subsidiary of which, Stet International, has a 29.29% investment in ETECSA, the Republic of Cuba government-operated joint venture telephone company), is producing a 20-minute virtual reality documentary about the Republic of Cuba’s tourism sector.  The digitally-produced documentary will be broadcast via satellite to home shopping computer networks where consumers can purchase tourism packages.

CIGAR PRODUCTION UPDATE-  Mr. Francisco Linares, President of Republic of Cuba government operated Habanos S.A., the exclusive marketer of Republic of Cuba-produced cigars, said that 160 million units would be produced in 1998, producing gross revenues of approximately US$250 million.  In 1997, the Republic of Cuba produced 101 million cigars, producing gross revenues of approximately US$170 million.  Mr. Linares said Habanos directly earned an average US$1.32 per cigar, and up to US$3.00 per cigar for higher-quality brands.  He said that Habanos S.A. had established with non-Republic of Cuba-based companies six joint ventures and various economic associations through which Habanos expected to obtain 50% of the profits from retail sales throughout the world.  Mr. Linares said that the high cost of Republic of Cuba-produced cigars was due mainly to import duties and taxes; for example, in Canada, where retail prices range up to US$40.00 per cigar.  Mr. Linares reported that Habanos would introduce two new cigar brands in 1999, both aimed at the middle to lower end of the international market.  During the last two years, Habanos has introduced Cuaba, Vegas Robaina, Vegueros, and Trinidad brand cigars, all aimed at the middle to high end of the international market.  The Republic of Cuba’s tobacco crop is 70% financed by 11 non-Republic of Cuba-based distributors, whom reportedly loaned approximately US$150 million in 1997 1998.  Projected 1998 sales of Republic of Cuba-produced cigars in millions of units are as follows: Spain  40; France  12; cigars purchased within the Republic of Cuba  10; United Kingdom  5.6; Canada  5; Switzerland  4.4; Germany  3.4; Netherlands  2.9; Mexico- 2.8; Africa and the Middle East  10; and the remainder to other countries.  Republic of Cuba cigar production is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, with plans to produce 200 million units in 1999.  There are approximately 37,000 private tobacco farmers within the Republic of Cuba and 33 cigar factories within the Republic of Cuba, employing approximately 20,000 workers.  In order to obtain and in order to sustain increased tobacco and cigar production, as well as, to maintain production quality controls, the government of the Republic of Cuba has had to implement U.S. Dollar-based production bonus programs for Republic of Cuba nationals.  Such U.S. Dollar-based production bonus programs are becoming increasingly necessary for the government of the Republic of Cuba to obtain value from Republic of Cuba nationals who have become increasingly demonstrative as to their requiring a U.S. Dollar-based percentage of any product or service from which the government of the Republic of Cuba will obtain U.S. Dollars as a result of their individual effort.

TOTAL “PRIVATE” SECTOR EMPLOYED IS REPORTED TO BE MORE THAN 300,000-  The National Tax Office (NTO) of the Republic of Cuba reported that more than 300,000 Republic of Cuba nationals were engaged in licensed categories of self employment, out of a total work force of approximately 4,500,000.  The Republic of Cuba has approximately 11 million citizens.  According to the inaugural issue of the NTO’s quarterly publication, The Contributor, at the end of June 1998 approximately 155,000 Republic of Cuba nationals were licensed to engage in 157 different classifications of self employment, from home-based restaurants to home-based beauty parlors to bicycle repair to bicycle parking to providers of various building trades, mainly for home repair.  The NTO reported that an additional 11,000 Republic of Cuba nationals were licensed to provide transportation services, and 6,000 Republic of Cuba nationals were licensed to rent rooms in their homes and apartments in their homes.  The NTO reported an equal number of Republic of Cuba nationals worked on private farms and in cooperatives, or worked as sales personnel for the private agricultural sector.  The government of the Republic of Cuba reported of 3,626,700 Republic of Cuba nationals employed in 1996: 2,817,500, or 77.7% were employed by the government of the Republic of Cuba; 348,800, or 9.6%, were members of newly-established quasi private cooperatives created from former Republic of Cuba government-operated farms; 110,300, or 3%, were employed by joint ventures and companies; 38,400, or 1.1%, by Republic of Cuba government-operated political and Republic of Cuba government-operated social organizations; 191,700, or 5.3%, were private farmers or cooperative members; and 120,000, or 3.3% were self employed.

UNDP RANKS CUBA 85TH OF 174 COUNTRIES IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT- The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ranked the Republic of Cuba 85th in overall human development out of 174 countries surveyed.  The Republic of Cuba ranked 11th in the Latin American region, after Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Panama, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and Ecuador.  The Republic of Cuba ranked ahead of Peru, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti.  The report, based on data through 1995, said that the Republic of Cuba remained near or at the top of the Latin American region for healthcare, education, sanitary conditions, life expectancy, and infant mortality. The report ranked the Republic of Cuba near the bottom of the Latin American region in terms of food consumption.

13.1% OF CUBA’S POPULATION MORE THAN 60 YEARS OF AGE- Mr. Osvaldo Prieto, Director of the Republic of Cuba government-operated Ibero-American Center for the Old Age, reported that there are currently 1,400,000 Republic of Cuba nationals whom are more than 60 years of age, representing approximately 13.1% of the country’s population of approximately 11 million.  The Ibero-American Center For Old Age estimates that within twenty-five years approximately 25% of the country’s population will be more than 60 years of age.  The Ministry of Finances and Prices of the Republic of Cuba reported in July 1998 that there were 4,500,000 Republic of Cuba nationals in the workforce.  The recently-published 1996 Statistical Abstract of the Republic of Cuba, reported 6.65 million Republic of Cuba nationals were between the 17 years of age and 59 years of age in 1996.

Clarification

In the 24 August 1998 to 30 August 1998 issue of the ECONOMIC EYE ON CUBA©, the following information, which appears in bold italics within [ ], was inadvertently deleted.  Our apologies.

“GERMANY’S HOECHST IN INDUSTRIAL GAS VENTURE- The Union of Industrial Gases Enterprises of the Republic of Cuba and Messer  Enterprises,  a subsidiary of Frankfurt, Germany-based Hoechst AG, have established a joint venture, Oxi-Acero S.A., which is operating the Republic of Cuba's largest oxygen and nitrogen gas plant on the outskirts of the city of Havana.  The plant has a capacity to produce 70% of all such gases currently manufactured in within the Republic of Cuba. [The plant was reportedly constructed in eleven months at a cost of approximately US$4 million].  Mr. Jurgen Nicklaus, Latin American Representative of Messer, said that the company planned to invest US$40 million to upgrade and to construct other industrial gas manufacturing plants within the Republic of Cuba during the next few years.”

UPDATED SPEAKING SCHEDULE

From 29 October 1998 to 31 October 1998, Mr. John S. Kavulich II, President of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, will be a guest of The Stanley Foundation (headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa) at its “Cuba and the United States: Approaches to Engagement” at the 39th Strategy for Peace Conference at the Airlie Center near Warrington, Virginia.  The conference will
bring together approximately fifty experts from the public and private sectors from the United States and from the Republic of Cuba.

On 11 November 1998, Mr. John S. Kavulich II, President of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, will appear at the annual College Music Journal (CMJ) Music Marathon-Musicfest & Filmfest at the Millennium Hotel in New York City as a panelist for a discussion entitled “Whirled Music: The Cuban Experience.”  The CMJ Music Marathon- Musicfest & Filmfest is the world’s largest and longest running new music convention and festival featuring panels, workshops, and 1,000 musicians performing at more than 60 venues in and around New York City.  The projected attendance is 8,000.

ANNUAL MEMBER LUNCHEON UPDATE

The annual member luncheon of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council is being tentatively-scheduled for October 1998 in New York City.  The principal guest speaker will be the chairman of a non-United States-based healthcare company which has operations within the Republic of Cuba.


ECONOMIC EYE ON CUBA© is published each Monday for members of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, the largest nonpartisan business organization within the United States focusing upon the Republic of Cuba. The organization is a private, not-for-profit corporation which does not take positions with respect to United States-Republic of Cuba political relations. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without written permission.


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