Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez speaks as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba during the Closing Session of the VIII Congress of the PCC at the Palacio de Convenciones, in Havana, Cuba, in 2021. File Photo by Ariel Ley Royero/EPA
Aug. 31 (UPI) -- The Cuban government has formally authorized private businesses to operate retail and restaurant chains across the country, expanding the role of the private sector as the island struggles with a severe economic crisis marked by shortages, inflation and widespread power outages.
The measure allows micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as cooperatives and foreign investors, to register a single brand and operate multiple locations across different provinces.
Transactions can be conducted in Cuban pesos and foreign currencies, the state-run newspaper Granma reported.
The reform seeks to restructure Cuba's retail sector amid a severe economic crisis. It also puts into effect part of a package of 176 economic reforms announced in June by President Miguel Díaz-Canel's government in an effort to pull the country out of its economic collapse.
