The nation's rising real estate prices are expected to continue their upward march in the Year of the Pig on expectations of the opening up of Taiwan to Chinese tourists and continuous capital inflow, a local developer said yesterday.
"There are signs signaling that it is still a bull market in the real estate sector in the Year of the Pig," Lai Cheng-i (
Indicators include a rising mortgage loan balance exceeding NT$4.4 trillion (US$133.7 billion) at the end of last year, and a construction lending balance hitting a record high of NT$849.5 billion. This showed there was a strong demand and corresponding supply, as well as abundant capital in the market, depressing interest rates, Lai said.
Capital inflow by overseas Taiwanese companies and foreign investors in anticipation of further cross-strait liberalization -- Chinese tourists, holiday chartered flights and eventually regular direct flights -- would also bolster the property market, he added.
Chinese tourists on average have the second highest travel budgets worldwide after Japan, the statement said, citing a survey by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台經院).
The average retail spending of each Chinese tourist is estimated at US$987 per trip, or one-third of the total travel budget, the highest in the world.
The number of Chinese travelers to Hong Kong in 2004 was 12.2 million, whose consumption accounted for 12 percent of total retail sales in the territory that year and helped create 16,500 new jobs, the survey said.
"This will not only help the local tourism industry but also bolster strong demand for commercial property for the development of department stores and office buildings," Lai said.
Commercial buildings in the greater Taipei and Taichung areas will be popular targets for foreign investors this year, he predicted.
In turn, housing prices could see a 5 percent to 10 percent markup in Taipei City in the first quarter, which could further strengthen later this year, Lai said.
Similarly, Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (
Shin Kong planned to launch an upscale housing project in Taichung this year, he said.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RECORD LOW: Global firms’ increased inventories, tariff disputes not yet impacting Taiwan and new graduates not yet entering the market contributed to the decrease Taiwan’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest for the month in 25 years, as strong exports and resilient domestic demand boosted hiring across various sectors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate eased to 3.34 percent, the best performance in 24 years, suggesting a stable labor market, although a mild increase is expected with the graduation season from this month through August, the statistics agency said. “Potential shocks from tariff disputes between the US and China have yet to affect Taiwan’s job market,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling
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