Taipei 101, the world’s tallest completed building, is expected to break even next year as an influx of businesses from China drive rents and occupancy higher.
Bank of China Ltd (中國工商銀行), Bank of Communications Co (交通銀行) and China Merchants Bank Co (招商銀行) are among lenders from across the Strait that have looked at space in the landmark building, said Michael Liu (劉家豪), a spokesman for owner Taipei Financial Center Corp (台北金融大樓公司).
The property may be 90 percent full next year, from 80 percent this year, he said.
“Our profitability will improve with more Chinese businesses renting our office space,” Liu said at a briefing in Taipei yesterday. “When demand increases, we hope our rental prices will rise.”
Taiwan and China are negotiating an agreement to allow more cross-investment in the banking, insurance and securities industries.
Spokespersons at the three Chinese banks could not be reached in their offices.
Rental rates may increase to an average of NT$4,000 per ping, or US$37.38 per square meter, from US$100 per ping now, Liu added.
Taipei 101’s losses may narrow to NT$100 million (US$3.1 million) this year from NT$1 billion last year, Liu said.
The 508m structure will be overtaken as the world’s tallest upon completion of Dubai’s Burj Dubai.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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