喜達屋簽約管理哈瓦那3家酒店 Starwood Hotels signs landmark Cuba deal
Starwood Hotels signed an agreement to manage three prominent hotels in Havana, the first time in nearly 60 years that a US hospitality company has been allowed to operate in Cuba.
喜達屋酒店(Starwood Hotels)簽訂了管理哈瓦那3家著名酒店的協議，這是近60年以來美國酒店服務企業首次獲准在古巴經營。
The company announced the groundbreaking deal one day before President Barack Obama is due to arrive in Havana for a historic visit that the administration hopes will help open up Cuban society and its economy.
該公司在美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)即將抵達哈瓦那開始歷史性訪問的前一天宣佈了這筆突破性的交易。奧巴馬政府希望，此行將有助於推動古巴社會及經濟的開放。
Thomas Mangas, chief executive of Starwood, said that the entire US hospitality industry was “watching Cuba with great interest” and that it was important to the company to be “a first mover”. The company said it would be making a “multimillion” dollar investment to renovate the hotels.
喜達屋首席執行官托馬斯•曼加斯(Thomas Mangas)稱，整個美國酒店服務業正“以極大的興趣關注着古巴”，而該公司成爲“先驅”具有重要意義。該公司稱，將投資“數百萬”美元裝修這些酒店。
The announcement comes at a hectic time for Starwood which said on Friday that it favoured a $13.1bn bid for the group by Chinese insurer Anbang. Marriott International, which had been trying to acquire Starwood, is also keen to invest in Cuba, and its chief executive Arne Sorenson is expected to be one of the US business leaders in Havana during Mr Obama’s trip.
該消息的宣佈正值喜達屋的忙碌期，上週五該公司稱傾向於接受中國保險商安邦保險(Anbang Insurance) 131億美元的報價。此前試圖收購喜達屋的萬豪國際(Marriott International)也熱衷於投資古巴，其首席執行官阿恩•索倫森(Arne Sorenson)預計將是隨同奧巴馬訪問古巴的美國商界領袖之一。
Starwood received an authorisation from the US Treasury department last week to begin operating hotels in Cuba — something that would have been prohibited under the longstanding economic embargo.
喜達屋上週得到了美國財政部(US Treasury)的授權，可以開始在古巴經營酒店——這在長期的經濟禁運制度下是受到禁止的。
The hotel deals represent one of the first entries by a US corporation into a Cuban market which is seen as having considerable untapped potential but which is only opening up to American investment at a slow rate.
這筆酒店交易代表着美國企業第一波進軍古巴市場之一，該市場被視爲擁有相當大的未開發潛力，但是向美國投資開放的速度緩慢。
