In October, Ceiba Investments became the first Cuba- focused fund to ever be listed on the London Stock Exchange, raising $39 million in its first day of trading.  Launched in 2001, Ceiba is the dominant foreign investor in Cuban real estate assets, managing a portfolio focused primarily on the tourism-related and commercial real estate sectors of the economy.

Ceiba owns stakes in four hotels and several office buildings from Havana to Varadero that it plans to expand using the money it raised by going public.  Currently valued at nearly $180 million, the fund also plans to build a new 400-room hotel in Trinidad, a town in central Cuba that is growing in popularity as a tourist destination.

These investments are coming at a much-needed time for Cuba given the economic implosion of Venezuela, their most important ally, from which Cuba has receive subsidized oil in exchange for medical and security services.

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