2007年VOA标准英语-Miami Investment Fund Bets on Change in Cuba

By Steve Mort
Miami, Florida
20 February 2007
 
watch Cuban Investment Fund

With President Fidel Castro in declining health, a growing number of companies in the United States are making plans to do business in Cuba. They are doing so based on reports that Acting¹ President Raul Castro is more pragmatic than his ailing² older brother and could move Cuba towards the Chinese economic model.  His seemingly conciliatory tone toward the United States recently also has led some firms to start considering future ventures on the island.

Shares in corporations set to do well -- if the U.S. embargo³ against Cuba is lifted -- have rallied over recent months. Steve Mort visited a Miami investment adviser⁴ who is banking⁵ on change in the communist country.

In Miami, business leaders and investors⁷ are closely watching developments in Cuba. Many view potential political change there as an opportunity.

 
Thomas Herzfeld
Investment adviser Thomas Herzfeld has established a portfolio⁸ of American companies set to benefit if the U.S. embargo against Cuba is lifted. "From early on we decided⁹ that once the trade was resumed with Cuba -- Cuba being the most important of the island countries in size and population -- there would be a boom in that country, one that we believe would proliferate¹⁰ throughout the region, and we always focused on Cuba. But of course being a U.S. investor⁶ and a U.S. citizen we can't invest directly in that country so we have invested in companies that we believe will do well even if trade is not resumed with Cuba, but also in companies that would benefit once trade is resumed."

Herzfeld's Caribbean Basin Fund is a small one. Its assets are $14 million and trades on the Nasdaq with the ticker symbol CUBA. It is a closed-end fund so, unlike a mutual¹¹ fund, its share price is determined¹² by the demand on market rather than the value of the fund's assets. The value of the fund's stock has risen 120 percent in the past year, making it the top performing fund of its kind in America.

Herzfeld says Raul Castro's recent comments give business cause for optimism. "For those of us who've been listening to Raul since he took over power last August, he's taken a much more conciliatory posture¹³ towards the U.S.  Now how far will he go towards free elections, releasing the political prisoners, compensation for confiscated¹⁴ property, return to capitalism¹⁵, how far will he go and how soon will he do it? That would be the key, in my view, towards the U.S. resuming trade with Cuba and we'll just have to see."

In Cuba, infrastructure¹⁶ is crumbling¹⁷ and, Herzfeld says, the country needs 40,000 new homes. The Caribbean Basin Fund includes U.S. construction, railroad, water, telecommunications and tourism companies.

Traditional Cuban industries such as rum, sugar, tobacco, mining and fisheries also present foreign investment opportunities.

 
Camilla Gallardo
Camilla Gallardo is from the Cuban American National Foundation. "They're going to need a lot of investment into the country and a lot of help in reconstruction¹⁸ and certainly we encourage companies that are looking and dealing¹⁹ in a post-Castro Cuba to do just that, I mean as they would anywhere else.  And certainly that would be of great assistance to helping²⁰ create jobs and industry in Cuba that don't exist today".

But in Miami, some Cuban-Americans doubt that American business can flourish on the island.

Alvaro Fernandez is among them. He campaigns against the U.S. embargo, but he believes that American industry will be at a disadvantage once trade is resumed. "There is an opportunity and the United States of America will come in late. Anybody who follows what is going on in Cuba will realize that they are starting to do business with the rest of the world -- China, Europe, Italy, Spain, Mexico, you name it, they've got something going with them".

But others, like Thomas Herzfeld, are less concerned. He thinks non-U.S. companies already in Cuba will be shunned²¹ in the future for doing business with the Castro government. He also denies his efforts are helping to erode²² the U.S. embargo.

Herzfeld is now meeting with hundreds of businesses on joint²³ ventures, and plans to invest directly in Cuba once the U.S. embargo is lifted.

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

3 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

6 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 proliferate   

vi.激增，(迅速)繁殖，增生

参考例句：

• We must not proliferate nuclear arms.我们决不能扩散核武器。
• Rabbits proliferate when they have plenty of food.兔子有充足的食物就会繁衍得很快。

11 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

13 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

14 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

15 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

16 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

17 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

18 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

19 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

20 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

21 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

23 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。