Cuba Cuts Growth Forecast to 1.4%

HAVANA TIMES — The Cuban government cut its prediction for economic growth in 2014 to only 1.4% down from 2.2 %, reported dpa news on Monday.

The figures reflect a “higher than expected slowdown,” Economy Minister Adel Yzquierdo told a meeting of the Council of Ministers (cabinet) on Saturday, noted the official Granma newspaper.

The forecast for the first half of the year is expected to be an even lower growth of 0.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to new estimates.

To reach the new projected annual growth of 1.4 percent for 2014 “greater dynamism of the economy will be needed in the second half of the year,” said Yzquierdo.

In recent years the Cuban government attempts to revive its economy with a slight opening of the market. In late March, the government of Raul Castro approved a new foreign investment law that seeks to attract capital inflows with tax incentives, among other measures. The law is supposed to take effect on June 28.

Havana hopes its economic liberalization in the coming years will allow for economic growth to reach between five and seven percent, according to plans presented during the discussions of the new investment law back in January.