The Pan American Stores chain denied this Thursday a message circulating on social networks about the start of retail operations in Cuba by foreign companies.
For much of the day, alleged information from the Spanish news agency Efe was widely disseminated on various digital platforms, stating that the El Corte Inglés chain of stores and supermarkets would manage retail business at the Fin de Siglo store and the Focsa supermarket, in Havana.
According to what was published on his Twitter profile by the Cimex Corporation, which has Tiendas Panamericanas as one of its chains, “it is not true that from the 1st. Foreign companies in charge of managing retail commercial activity in the aforementioned units will begin to operate in Havana in January.”
that will manage the retail business activity in the Fin de Siglo units and the Focsa Supermarket.
We urge our followers and customers to stay informed through our official communication channels. #FakeNews— CIMEX SA Corporation (@cimex_cuba) December 1, 2022
The alleged press release awarded to the Spanish agency also made reference to the fact that other international conglomerates such as Walmart, Carrefour, Ikea and Galerías Lafayette had announced the opening of their first stores in Havana.
In turn, it stated that the local chains TRD and Panamericana were bidding for premises to accommodate new companies, something that local governments would also be doing for this purpose.
In Cimex’s institutional communication, followers and customers are urged to stay informed through the group’s official communication channels, including their profiles on social networks.
The false news appears at a time when the Cuban government is promoting the possibilities of investment of foreign capital in the economy with various initiatives, including the opening for foreign companies to venture into businesses related to retail and wholesale trade.
that decision was announced in mid-August, and according to the authorities, it is part of a package of easing measures aimed at boosting the economy, affected by a severe crisis caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sanctions imposed by the government of the United States and the ineffectiveness of most of the measures designed by the executive to overcome the complex situation.
At that time, the first deputy minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign investmentAna Teresita González, reported that from now on foreign investors could create entities to trade in the wholesale market and form joint ventures, “selectively”, to “carry out retail trade activities”.
