HAVANA, Sept. 3 — The Cuban government on Wednesday announced an expansion of private businesses, allowing them to employ more than 100 workers and include Cubans living abroad and foreign permanent residents on the island as partners.
A decree published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba updates the country’s regulations on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and adds private companies with more than 100 workers to the legal and economic framework.
The decree says MSMEs and companies with more than 100 workers may be state-owned, private, mixed or owned by organizations. Private firms may include as partners Cuban individuals living in Cuba or abroad, as well as foreign permanent residents in Cuba over the age of 18.
Lazara Mercedes Lopez, president of the National Institute of Non-State Economic Actors, said the measure opens new opportunities for non-state economic actors and facilitates their participation in the national economy at the municipal level. She said the legislation allows individuals to be partners in more than one MSME or private company with over 100 workers.
It also gives MSMEs the ability to export and import directly, subject to prior authorization from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment. The decree, set to take effect on Sept. 9, also updates the legal treatment of non-agricultural cooperatives and self-employment.
Lopez said the law reduces requirements, procedures and time frames for creating and operating non-state businesses. The decree also recognizes usufruct and surface rights for private companies and non-agricultural cooperatives to make investments, including in agricultural activities, and authorizes cash foreign-currency deposits for non-state economic actors. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
