Business & Economy

The Cuba government has approved the creation of a business group that will bring together 38 state companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, two fields on which Raul Castro government is placing much hope.

The joint venture Brascuba SA will soon start production in Cuba of Brazilian “Plaza” brand cigarettes. The goal is to export 500 million units by 2017, while at the same time gain consumers here on the island.

An Ecuadorian bank headquartered in Miami, Florida, was forced by the US government to block the delivery of $101,000 to the Cuban Council of Churches from the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI).

The Cuban parliament will meet in one of its two brief annual sessions starting on December 13th, announced chairman Ricardo Alarcon on Friday.

Cuban authorities decided to suspend, beginning November 27, the operating permits for charter flights to the island under Airline Brokers and C & T Charters.

One of the nickel plants is now operational in the town of Moa, Holguin, after having suffered damage from Hurricane Sandy last month.

The sugar harvest for the period 2012-2013 began on Wednesday at the Jesus Rabbi Mill in Matanzas, said Liobel Hernandez, an AZCUBA group specialist, It is expected that fifty mills across the country will take part in the current harvest, four more than last year.

A plane from China arrived today at the Antonio Maceo Airport in Santiago de Cuba loaded with aid for addressing the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy in the eastern part of the island almost a month ago.

The Scarabeo-9 rig will soon be withdrawn from Cuba after three failed attempts to find oil in exploration wells, officials said on Tuesday at the offices of the Ministry of Basic Industry.