Paris, Oct 16 (EFE).- Despite the U.S. Helms-Burton law, which imposes sanctions on companies that invest in the island, more than 40 countries do business in Cub,a according to the Cuban Minister of Foreign Investments, Ibrahim Ferradaz.
In an interview with Le Monde, a leading French newspaper, Ferradaz said that European Union countries account for more than 50 percent of Cuba's foreign investors.
At the top of the list of countries with investments in Cuba are Spain, Canada, Mexico, France, the Netherlands and Great Britain, according to Ferradaz, who said that Chile, Lebanon and South Africa also have made investments.
Ferradaz said that Cuba's authorities are presently reviewing 140 foreign investment applications.
Should the Helms-Burton Law be carried out, he said that the consecuences would be difficult to calculate. Some companied have been frightened and have withdrawn their projects.
At the end of 1996, there were 260 foreign businesses in Cuba. In the first semester of 1997, a larger number of new agreements were closed with foreign partners than in the same period last year.
Ferradaz went on to say that the agreements affect 34 sectors of the economy, ranging from oil exploration to tourism. EFE