Simpsons calls it right again.............

[El Presidente]

 

Cuban Gov. Moves to Freeze Foreign Company Accounts  

April 13, 2025

Photo of the facade of the Credit and Commerce Bank in Havana, Cuba. EFE/Ernesto Mastrascusa

By Francisco Acevedo

HAVANA TIMES – The bomb has just exploded, after Cuban authorities informed several foreign companies this week that they will no longer be able to freely use the foreign currency they have in bank accounts in the country — totaling several million dollars.

The audacity doesn’t stop there. In addition to trying to seize foreign currency that doesn’t belong to them, Diaz-Canel and company are “offering” the affected parties the chance to open a new type of foreign currency account on the island. In other words, not only are they being told that their money is not entirely theirs, but they are also being asked to bring in even more hard currency. It’s the height of insolence.

https://havanatimes.org/opinion/cuban-gov-moves-to-freeze-foreign-company-accounts/

 

 

 

 

[BoliDan]

Wow that's just desperation. Must've dwindled all foreign reserves. Building uncertainty in foreign investors for some millions of dollars is 🤯

[chris12381]

Everytime I read something like this, I think about the story told by Stephen Purvis in "Close But No Cigar" and the game that must be played by everyone when they invest in Cuba. The game that inevitably leads to this kind of government clawback/overstep and your business partners become witnesses for the prosecution in some Kafkaesque trial. 

With so many other countries in the world, countries with long track records of success for foreign investors, countries with legal systems that respect the property rights of foreign individuals/corporations and actually view foreign investment as a long term partnership. Why in the world would anyone continue to invest a penny on that island?

[El Presidente]

9 hours ago, chris12381 said:

 

With so many other countries in the world, countries with long track records of success for foreign investors, countries with legal systems that respect the property rights of foreign individuals/corporations and actually view foreign investment as a long term partnership. Why in the world would anyone continue to invest a penny on that island?

There is a thinking within In the international cross border business community that when it comes to commodities and services, you can only make "real" money in third world countries. Looser regulatory standards, cheaper wages, cheaper costs overall, compliant government agencies = mucho moola. 

Cuba however does not have a compliant government. Few foreign businesses of scale have made the same investment returns that they would make in other parts of Central/South America, parts of Asia, parts of Africa. Cuba when it comes to business (foreign and private enterprise domestic) has too many times in the past acted much like a carnivorous plant. 

Companies accept a level of political risk for a higher return. In terms of Cuba, too many times has that level of risk been deemed too high. This is one case where "past performance is a likely indicator of future returns" 

[helix]

Unbelievable . 

"may be the last dollars they’ll ever see"

[Fugu]

Groundhog Day again?!