Shin Kong Bank (
Despite some 40 potential buyers having previously expressed an interest in the property, no bidders participated in yesterday's auction, the bank said.
overestimation
Billy Yen (
"Bidders were afraid that they would have to hike up prices to close the deal, which has been a too worthy to fail."
Yen previously estimated that the deal's closing price might jump to more than NT$8.5 billion or NT$9 billion, which would immediately guarantee a new buyer with a 3 percent to 4 percent return from existing rentals.
Following yesterday's failed auction, Shin Kong plans to openly negotiate prices with potential buyers, bank executive Chen Chien-cheng (
talks
Chen said that the bank had started talks with more than 10 potential buyers and expects to complete the building's liquidation by the end of this year at the earliest.
Shin Kong has been forced by a law, which restricts banks from investing in properties worth over 10 percent of their capital, to sell off the lucrative rental building where several multinational companies are headquartered.
Shares of Shin Kong Financial, which climbed to NT$26.65 per share in mid-day trade yesterday, closed lower at NT$25.60, or a 1.3 percent decline from Friday's close.
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