6 July, 2015 – The Sace group (specialized in supporting foreign investments for Italian companies) is currently accompanying a delegation led by President Giovanni Castellaneta on business mission for the Italy-Cuba Business Forum promoted by the Ministries of Economic Development and Foreign Affairs. “Sace returns for the third time this year to Cuba, a market towards which it has gradually expanded its operation, increasing from €10 to €100 million the credit line for the support of exports and investments – explained SACE President Giovanni Castellaneta – We are currently working on new operations in different functional areas to the island’s industrial and socio-economic development, such as energy, metallurgy, mechanical engineering in its different applications and electro-medical equipment.” Although the operational and business risk profiles remain quite high, the improvement of the political and economic environment and recent reforms undertaken by the Cuban government – which introduced tax benefits for foreign investors and reduced barriers to imports for machinery – make Cuba a market of growing interest for Made in Italy. According to the Sace research department, with the reform program implemented by the government, Italian companies could pull off a gain in new exports amounting to over €220 million by 2019. The short-term debt restructuring agreement signed with the Government of Cuba in 2011, so far honored with regular payments, and constructive dialogue on international medium to long-term debt, improve the country’s profile. During the mission, in-depth sessions will focus on the leading economic sectors, in particular the food industry, and there will also be a visit to the special economic zone of Mariel. The mission’s initiatives offer Italian companies operating in the country the opportunity to meet with Sace representatives, and evaluate together the best solutions in support of their commercial activities. Among the most popular Sace products, there are: documentary credit and, more generally, risk covers for the non-payment of Cuban companies or banks. But Sace offers a more extensive range of products for the market, in particular loan guarantees to support international projects and consulting services to structure appropriate growth strategies. (Red)
