喜达屋签约管理哈瓦那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.
喜达屋酒店(Starwood Hotels)签订了管理哈瓦那3家著名酒店的协议，这是近60年以来美国酒店服务企业首次获准在古巴经营。
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.
该公司在美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)即将抵达哈瓦那开始历史性访问的前一天宣布了这笔突破性的交易。奥巴马政府希望，此行将有助于推动古巴社会及经济的开放。
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.
喜达屋首席执行官托马斯•曼加斯(Thomas Mangas)称，整个美国酒店服务业正“以极大的兴趣关注着古巴”，而该公司成为“先驱”具有重要意义。该公司称，将投资“数百万”美元装修这些酒店。
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.
该消息的宣布正值喜达屋的忙碌期，上周五该公司称倾向于接受中国保险商安邦保险(Anbang Insurance) 131亿美元的报价。此前试图收购喜达屋的万豪国际(Marriott International)也热衷于投资古巴，其首席执行官阿恩•索伦森(Arne Sorenson)预计将是随同奥巴马访问古巴的美国商界领袖之一。
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.
喜达屋上周得到了美国财政部(US Treasury)的授权，可以开始在古巴经营酒店——这在长期的经济禁运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.
这笔酒店交易代表着美国企业第一波进军古巴市场之一，该市场被视为拥有相当大的未开发潜力，但是向美国投资开放的速度缓慢。
