Debt? Castro would rather give them a rum for their money.
Cuba has come up with an unusual way to repay its multimillion-dollar debt to the Czech Republic – bottles of its famous rum, officials in Prague say.
Cuba owes the Czech authorities $276m (£222m), and if the offer is accepted the Czechs would have enough Cuban rum for more than a century.
Not surprisingly, Prague said it preferred to get at least some of the money in cash.
Other unusual Ways of paying debts
Apparently, in the 60’s, communistic Poland owed a debt to Iceland. Poland decided to pay the debt off by sending them tons of Polish chocolate wafer bars Prince Polo. It turned out to be a very clever move, as Icelanders liked the candy so much that they now consume 160 tons of the stuff a year.
Since the 1940s the Soviet union imported wool, meat, and dairy products from New Zealand. Unable to pay with the Soviet union collapsed, The Russians in the mid-90s offered to pay New Zealand their $100 million debt in military hardware. The Kiwis declined the offer stating among other things that they didn’t have a need for colossal 50 000 ton submarine capable of launching 20 ballistic missiles each armed with 10 nuclear warheads. The Russians suggested that the Kiwis hook the reactors up to the national power grid, since the reactors in the sub were capable of powering thousands regular of homes. The Kiwis declined the offer and accepted payment in the means of commercial goods such as cars, tractors, and booze.
In the early 2000s, Thailand bought some Chinese armored vehicles, they proposed paying with 66,000 tons of dried Thai Longan fruit. That one fell through.
Anyone know unusual debt payments, please let us know.
H/T : BBC World News, Reddit
