Cuba and Singapore Express Interest in Strengthening Economic Bonds

HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 6 (acn) Cuba and Singapore expressed on Monday the intention to strengthen the links between the two markets, on the occasion of the visit to the island of the first business mission from that Asian country, headed by its Minister of Trade and Industry, Lim Hng Kiang.

In a business forum held at Havana's Hotel Nacional, attended by Rodrigo Malmierca, Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Hng Kiang expressed an interest in promoting bilateral exchanges, supported by the existing friendly relations.
Cuba is a very important place, the Singaporean minister stressed noting the broad motivations of the current delegation, composed of 14 companies from various sectors, to know the new opportunities opened on the island following its profound economic changes.
As an example of the ties, he mentioned the administration of the Container Terminal of the Port of Mariel by Singapore's PSA, one of the leading companies in port operations and first in transshipment works worldwide.
Hng Kiang also highlighted the presence in Cuba of a Singaporean hotel company, which will execute over the next four years four projects that will add 1,300 rooms to the accommodation capacity of the country.
I am pleased that these projects are going well and I hope other companies explore new proposals in areas such as tourism, agriculture and transport, he commented.
At the meeting, Ho Kwon Ping, representative of the Singapore Business Federation, announced that in November the first hotel with 520 rooms I be inaugurated, located in Cayo Santa Maria, north of the central province of Villa Clara.
He said there are opportunities to increase business in both directions, and asserted that Singapore can become the gateway of the island to Asia, an area that is becoming a competitive market.
At the end of the exchanges, the Cuban Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore Business Federation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the two institutions.