Office leasing on the rise at Taipei 101

Taipei Financial Center Corp (台北金融大樓), the operator of Taipei 101 -- the world's tallest skyscraper -- said yesterday that rent for its office space has been rising on expectations that the government would soon allow Chinese individuals and corporations to buy properties in Taiwan.

The optimism stems from the attitude of the presidential candidates from the two major parties -- the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Ma Ying-jeou　(馬英九) -- who favor relaxing restrictions on Chinese investment in the local property market and easing the ban on cross-strait transportation.

"That will be an important catalyst for the nation's commercial space market as the relaxation will encourage Chinese companies to set up offices here," said Michael Liu (劉家豪), an assistant vice president at Taipei Financial Center.

Liu also said that the rent for office space at Taipei 101 was still low at NT$3,300 to NT$3,500 per ping (3.3m2), compared with NT$10,000 per ping in Hong Kong.

Taipei Financial Center would consider raising rent depending on market demand, he said.

The occupancy rate at Taipei 101's office building is 75 percent after the addition of more tenants, including the Bank of America.