U.S. Companies & Cuba Direct Foreign Investment (DFI) Update

There is horizontal Direct Foreign Investment (DFI) in the Republic of Cuba by United States-based companies as represented by:

Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott International (hotel management)
Moline, Illinois-based John Deere (distribution center)
Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar (distribution center)
Chicago, Illinois-based United Airlines (operations/ticket office)
Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines (operations/ticket office)
Long Island City, New York-based Jet Blue Airways (operations/ticket office)
Atlanta, Georgia-based Delta Air Lines (operations/ticket office)

Since 17 December 2014, two (2) horizontal DFI proposals in the public domain were rejected by the government of the Republic of Cuba: Alabama-based Cleber LLC (a facility in the Republic of Cuba that would use parts manufactured in the United States and delivered to the Republic of Cuba to assemble tractors for the domestic market and for export) and Florida-based Florida Produce of Hillsborough County (distribution center in the Republic of Cuba featuring food and other products imported from the United States).   

Definition Of DFI (from Investopedia)

Foreign direct investments can be made in a variety of ways, including the opening of a subsidiary or associate company in a foreign country, acquiring a controlling interest in an existing foreign company, or by means of a merger or joint venture with a foreign company.

The threshold for a foreign direct investment that establishes a controlling interest, per guidelines established by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is a minimum 10% ownership stake in a foreign-based company, typically represented for the investor acquiring 10% or more of the ordinary shares or voting shares of a foreign company. However, that definition is flexible, as there are instances where effective controlling interest in a firm can be established with less than 10% of the company's voting shares.

Foreign direct investments are commonly categorized as being horizontal, vertical or conglomerate in nature. A horizontal direct investment refers to the investor establishing the same type of business operation in a foreign country as it operates in its home country, for example, a cell phone provider based in the United States opening up stores in China. A vertical investment is one in which different but related business activities from the investor's main business are established or acquired in a foreign country, such as when a manufacturing company acquires an interest in a foreign company that supplies parts or raw materials required for the manufacturing company to make its products. A conglomerate type of foreign direct investment is one where a company or individual makes a foreign investment in a business that is unrelated to its existing business in its home country. Since this type of investment involves entering an industry the investor has no previous experience in, it often takes the form of a joint venture with a foreign company already operating in the industry.