Business & Economy

A new law governing self-employment has been published in Cuba’s Official Gazette, the daily Granma reported today (Jan. 15). Law No. 315 spells out the punishments to be handed out to individuals who do not observe the regulations set for “non-state activities.”

Unproductive and/or inefficient state-run enterprises were warned that they could be shut down or turned over to self-employed workers if they didn’t mend their ways. The warning came in an article Monday in the Communist Party daily Granma.

Here is the list of the products available to Havana residents with their ration book during the week of January 13-19.

This year the Cuban government hopes to convert the drivers of twenty state taxi agencies into self-employed taxi drivers, reports dpa news on Wednesday. The measure will be implemented “gradually” throughout 2014.

New car sales begin today in Cuba after a half century of restrictions on the internal market. The CIMEX corporation automotive division posted some initial prices, Cubans with wealthy family members abroad or other alternative income sources are candidates for purchases.

The Cuban government said today that the recently announced decision allowing for the open market sale of new cars will take effect as of this Friday, reported dpa news. The new provisions repealing the old restrictions on “the purchase of motor vehicles” was published on Wednesday in the Official Gazette of Cuba.

Self-employed entrepreneurs who need startup money can apply to banks for loans as small as 38 dollars instead of the previous minimum of 113 dollars, the Central Bank of Cuba has announced.

A leading Chinese automobile manufacturer will start assembling its vehicles in Cuba. The Hangzhou-based Geely International Corporation is now preparing to launch its project “in a local place” in Cuba, the Global Times reported.