Hoping to steal some of the limelight from fashion outlet-packed Taipei, the Dream Mall (
The new shopping mall is the nation's largest, with a floor space of 121,000 ping (399,300m2), the sixth-largest in Asia and the 11th largest in the world.
The mall rises nine stories and has three basement levels and has roped in Japan's Hankyu Department Store; Japan's largest lifestyle and home-furnishing brand, Nitori; the UK's Marks & Spencer; and a sub-zero temperature playground introduced from Japan so subtropical Taiwanese can experience a winter wonderland.
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
All of these retailers will make their Taiwan debut at the Dream Mall.
However, Hankyu Department Store, Marks & Spencer and Nitori will not open their doors for business until May 12, when a grand opening ceremony is scheduled.
Dream Mall president Paul Chang (
Chang predicted that the mall, which took an investment of NT$18.5 billion, would break even within three years and start pulling in profits in ten years.
Another much-anticipated feature is the mall's NT$200 million rooftop Ferris wheel, whose 36 carts are painted with Sanrio Co's famous cartoon figures, including Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll Dog and Badtz-Maru penguin.
The firm said it is the only Ferris wheel in Taiwan with a view of the ocean.
Taipei's Miramar Entertainment Park (美麗華百樂園) in Dazhi District also banks on its rooftop 48-cart Ferris wheel, the second-largest in the world after the wheel atop the Hip Five shopping center in Osaka, Japan, as a draw for those curious to get a bird's eye view of the greater Taipei area.
Statistics show that Kaohsiung's department store and shopping mall market is worth about NT$22 billion per annum. Hanshin Department Store takes the lion's share with sales of NT$10 billion a year.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS