Next Media moving to Neihu offices

Hong Kong's Next Media Ltd (壹傳媒集團) is increasing its investment in Taiwan, announcing yesterday the purchase of two buildings in Neihu for N$780 million, amid shutdowns and cutbacks at struggling local media companies.

One of the buildings will be occupied by Next Media Taiwan, publisher of Next magazine, while the other will be occupied by the Taiwan edition of the Apple Daily, one of Hong Kong's most popular papers.

The company is expected to take up residence in the complex in the second half of the year and be publishing a Taiwan edition of the Apple Daily by the end of this year.

The real estate deal is reported to be worth NT$780 million and will be the second biggest in the Neihu Phase 6 Light Industrial District (內湖六期重劃區).

The purchase will be a significant boost for the district, which has seen vacancy rates increase from 4.67 percent to 16.85 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a report by international real estate firm Colliers Jardine.

Total floorspace of the two buildings is 1,319 pings with each ping costing an average of NT$160,850.

The builder of the complex, Founding Development Construction Co (皇鼎建設), is expected to earn roughly NT$17.2 million.

Next Media had originally planned to launch the Apple Daily in Taiwan mid-way through this year, but continued losses at the Taiwan edition of Next and layoffs of around 200 staff in Hong Kong have pushed the date back.

Jimmy Lai (黎智英), chairman of Next Media, had claimed last year that Next, launched in May, would break even "in the next four months, six months at the latest."

Lai has said the Taiwanese market needs a consumer paper such as the Apple Daily, which would likely follow the flamboyant, muckraking style of the magazine.

Next's expansion comes at a turbulent time for Taiwan's media industry amid numerous shutdowns and a crackdown by the government on media freedoms over the alleged leaking of state secrets.

Chinese-language papers that have closed in recent months include Taiwan's oldest afternoon newspaper, the Independence Evening Post, the nation's only sports paper, The Great Sports Daily and Power News.

Virtually all media have made staff cutbacks or executed salary adjustments to offset the costs of poor revenue.

The government caused a media uproar recently after raiding the offices of Next and the China Times for allegedly leaking state secrets about a government fund for buying diplomatic influence for the politically isolated country.

Formerly known as Paramount Publishing Group Ltd, Next Media has operations in Hong Kong, Canada, Taiwan and the US.

Printing and reprographic services accounted for 53 percent of the company's 2001 revenues, while magazine publishing, advertising and books accounted for 45 percent and Internet content and advertising 2 percent.