Apertura de oficinas de representación en Cuba

Muchos empresarios extranjeros o personas en busca de negocios en Cuba, buscan las vias para la apertura de una oficina comercial, que facilite la generarión de negocios  en el pais. Pero esto no es tán fácil, teniendo en cuenta que no es un proceso sencillo, como pudiera resultar en otros paises. 

En Cuba lo que está permitido son oficinas de representación, más conocidas como sucursales, lo cual indica que previamente debe existir en otro pais la firma que se quiera representar.

La Legislación cubana, más especificamente la resolución 550 del 2001, establece el procedimiento para la tramitación de una sucursal o agente.

Más adelante publicaremos el cuerpo completo de la citada resolución, pero las cuestiones más importantes se señalan a continuación:

En primer lugar, se aprueban la apertura de oficinas a:

1.- Empresas resulte de interés para el país, teniendo en cuenta la nomenclatura de productos que comercializa, la transferencia tecnológica, la concesión de créditos, solvencia económica y el prestigio de la firma, entre otros.
 
2.- Que el capital social desembolsado de la sociedad mercantil no sea inferior a 50 MUSD o su equivalente en otra moneda (aunque en la realidad esto no se ha tenido mucho en cuenta)
 
 3.- Que la sociedad mercantil o empresario individual que interese el establecimiento de Sucursal, haya tenido un volumen de negocios con entidades cubanas no inferior a los 500 MUSD anuales en los últimos tres años. 

4.-  Que los productos y/o servicios que se comercializen resulten de interés para el país, teniendo en cuenta la nomenclatura de productos que comercializan, la transferencia tecnológica, la concesión de créditos, solvencia económica y el prestigio de la firma, entre otros.

    Como podrán ver, resulta necesario la realización de negocios con empresas cubanas previamente, para poder tener acceso a una oficina  de manera oficial, aunque en estos últimos tiempo, la figura de la consignación, que veremos más adelante, ha permitido la presencia en Cuba de mercancias nacionalizadas, con personal cubano que promueve las ventas de las mercancias, pero esto lo veremos en otra entrada.

Becoming supplier of the cuban market

For the foreign businessmen it is important to know that the Cuban market is conformed for:

•        Internal market in foreign currencies
•       Internal market in national  currencies (Peso)

    In the Cuban market a series of Cuban companies authorized to carry out activity of foreign trade     and     they  can be classified as: 

• Importers Companies. 
• Exporters Companies
• Importers and Exporters.

Many foreign companies aspire to be suppliers or buyer of this market, not all of them can be part of this, due the requirements

• The first necessary aspect is to have a social object in correspondence to the products and services that it offers, the social object that appears in the statutes, should be as wide as possible that includes, the trade wholesaler, foreign trade and that this related with the products that are offered. 
•   A social capital of 50 000 dollars, as minimum is something well valued, value inferior they can be in disadvantage, because they don't appreciate it as something significant.

•  Products or services offers needs of certain international recognition should be marketed or of national recognition in their country, with products with complete international technical norms.It is valued a lot that deficit products are offered.

It is necessary to present a complete file of the company that contains :

• copies of the statutes of the company

•   copies of the registrations in the Chamber of Commerce or mercantile registrations.

• copies of bank guarantee

• List    with  products and services

!!Important !! 

The whole documentation, it should be translated to Spanish and legalized in present

of public notary and then legalized on Cuban embassy.

Once the documentation is evaluated and accepted by the Cuban importer, it is classified the supplier by the sectors that it presented in their products and services. It is important to plan a presentation visit, to promote the company, know the Cuban client, and their environment.

Cuban economy

One of the big problems to that have the businessmen in their intentions of making business in Cuba, is that they ignore completely, in their great majority like the country works and like it is its economy.
It is necessary that they understand that Cuba is the only socialist country of the western hemisphere, with an unique economy in its type, that is not a market economy, to the one that they are accustomed in its origin countries.

The economy of Cuba is a largely state-controlled, centrally planned economy overseen by the Cuban government, though there remains significant foreign investment and enterprise in Cuba. Most of the means of production are owned and run by the government and most of the labor force is employed by the state. In the year 2000, the public sector employment was 76% and the private sector at 23% compared to the 1981 ratio of 91% to 8%.[3] Capital investment is restricted and requires approval by the government.

We plan to publish step bystep, the different forms of making business in Cuba, the best sectors, and wise advice in each case.

Business with Cuba

Welcome to our new blog about how to make business with Cuba