Contract computer maker Clevo Co (藍天電腦) and property affiliate Hongwell Group (宏匯集團) yesterday shed more light on plans for a multibillion-dollar development project, saying they expect it to generate annual returns of 5 to 8 percent, better than interest income from bank deposits.
The local consortium is competing against a foreign team — consisting of Hong Kong’s Nan Hai Corp (南海控股) and Malaysian property developer Pavilion Group (柏威年集團) — for the Taipei Twin Towers development project near Taipei Railway Station.
Both contenders have passed qualification reviews, the Taipei City Government said in a statement on Tuesday, as many have raised concern over Chinese capital hiding behind either team.
Local insurers and developers, while expressing interest, have stayed away for fear of resistance from a few small private landowners, a problem that has plagued several urban renewal projects.
The city government said it would announce the winner by the end of this month after failing to auction the contract over the past 20 years.
Clevo chairman Kent Hsu (許崑泰) said his team intends to build a mixed-use complex featuring two towers of 56 and 76 stories that would house retail stores, movie theaters, office space, restaurants, hotel rooms and an observatory on the rooftop.
Office space would take up 63.84 percent of total floor space, while retail stores and hotel rooms would occupy the remaining 23.48 percent and 12.68 percent respectively, the team said.
International property broker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (JLL) has said it plans to move its office in Taipei 101 to the new complex to take advantage of its proximity to the railway, high speed rail and MRT stations.
Hsu, who owns Chicony Electronics Co (群光電子) and the China-based Buynow (百腦匯) retail chain, said the development project would cost NT$60.6 billion (US$1.97 billion) and could be completed in four to six years.
The venture could start to generate a profit after nine to 10 years and recover the cost in 20 to 30 years, Hsu said.
“We have a long-term view for the project, which would be an environmentally friendly landmark in the region,” Hsu said.
The group has experience in joint ventures with the government, as it is responsible for three such projects in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) and New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊).
The team would collaborate with US architecture and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP to build the complex and invite Hyatt Hotels Corp to run the hotel, Hsu said.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
RSS