Huaku Development Co (?嘐膘偞), the nation＊s second-largest residential apartment builder, yesterday outbid six other domestic land developers and life insurers to acquire a 1,715 ping (5,668m2) plot of land in Tianmu (毞譫), Taipei City, for NT$7.028 billion (US$221.4 million), or NT$4.09 million per ping, the deal＊s auctioneer, CB Richard Ellis, said yesterday.
That represents a 41.4 percent premium on the land auction＊s floor price of NT$4.97 billion, which the owner, Taipei-based charity group Evangelize China Fellowship, had set.
Expressing satisfaction with the result, Hong Van (?峏?), managing director of CB Richard Ellis Taiwan, told reporters that he believed ※the deal＊s closing price is reasonable, not outrageously high and only represents a thee-year averaged [hike].§
However, the deal did not break a record set by the National Property Administration＊s January auction of a 116.16 ping plot on Renai Road in Taipei for NT$6.79 million per ping, 135 percent over the floor price of NT$2.89 million.
Yesterday＊s winning bid was within 5 percent of the second-highest bid, Van said. He declined to identify the six other bidders, which included Cathay Life Insurance (?怍??).
The realtor had earlier dubbed the parcel of land the ※last treasure in Tianmu§ and best for an upscale luxury residential project, which would yield the highest return and snap a minimum unit price of between NT$1.3 million and NT$1.5 million per ping.
Van estimated that the prices of the luxury homes to be built on the site may average NT$1.7 million per ping 〞 likely to be the most expensive residential property unit price in the district 〞 depending on urban renewal benefits.
Susan Liu (??繩), vice president of Huaku Development, yesterday confirmed that the company would launch a residential project there in 2012 with two to three units per floor.
However, she refused to forecast the project＊s pricing on concerns that it may invite unnecessary criticism from the government, which is making efforts to curb property prices in the city.
※We will only reap a reasonable profit now that the land price in Taipei has increased,§ she said.
She also confirmed that the company won the bid by a mere NT$100 million over Cathay Life Insurance＊s bid of NT$6.9 billion.
Taiwan Realty Co (怢?滇挌) analyst Chiu Tai-hsuan (⑨怮嬧) said yesterday in a press statement that Huaku is likely to build a 21-story residential apartment there, which would be a new landmark in the district although other analysts may not share the land developer＊s optimism in Tianmu.
In related news, Nelson Chi (憚埬), a former resident of Tianmu, yesterday joined 10 other protesters to urge the land＊s previous owner, Evangelize China Fellowship, to make good use of its proceeds in doing charity work.
He said that the group might neglect the children it is looking after by relocating its orphanage to a worse living environment in Beitou.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS