Taipei Financial Center Corp (台北金融大樓公司), owner of the world's tallest building, may consider selling NT$5 billion (US$160 million) in shares to bolster revenue by expanding the amount of retail space at the tower.
The company may sell shares through a rights offer or seek to tap outside investors, said Michael Liu (劉家豪), a company spokesman. Average retail rents at the 101-story building are NT$7,000 per ping (US$68 a square meter), more than double the average rent for the tower's offices.
"The size of any capital increase, if approved, would depend on whether the borrowing rate at that time is favorable or not," Liu said yesterday by phone. "We may raise the funds internally or seek outside investors."
The building, which opened in 2001, will start making a profit in three to five years, Liu said.
Taipei Financial Center also wants to expand the building's observatory deck and may open the 88th floor to the public, giving visitors a better view of the hanging ball that stabilizes the tower, Liu said.
The expansion proposal will be discussed by the board at a meeting on March 7.
"The breakeven point was set at a time frame of six to eight years from completion," Liu said. "That target hasn't been changed."
Liu rejected a report in the Chinese-language Commercial Times that Taipei Financial Center plans to write down the value of its capital by half because of losses. The report did not cite sources.
Major shareholders include China Development Industrial Bank (中華開發工銀), China United Trust & Investment Corp (中聯信託) and Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信).
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
ROUGH RECORDS: Bonds in Japan, as well is in New Zealand, Australia and the US, are seeing the effects of a nervy market as stock exchanges across Asia edge down A deepening slump in Japanese government bonds added fuel to the selloff in global debt markets as rising oil prices stoked inflation fears and pushed yields to multi-decade highs. Japan’s 30-year yield yesterday surged as much as 20 basis points to the highest level since the tenor’s debut in 1999, before paring some of the move. Shorter-maturity Japanese debt was also under pressure, underscored by weak demand at a sale of five-year notes that offered a record-high coupon of 2 percent. Concerns over inflation and government spending rippling through markets including the US, Australia and New Zealand are being amplified in Japan,
The US has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia Corp’s second-most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) chip, the H200, but not a single delivery has been made so far, three people familiar with the matter said, leaving a major technology deal in limbo as chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) seeks a breakthrough in China this week. Huang, who was not initially listed in a White House delegation to Beijing, joined the trip after an invitation from US President Donald Trump, a source said. Trump picked him up in Alaska en route to a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping
Wall Street is licking its chops over an unprecedented slate of massive initial public offerings (IPOs) set to arrive in the coming months, beginning with Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) next month. That is expected to be followed by artificial intelligence (AI) rivals OpenAI and Anthropic PBC. The trio of mega listings, each eyeing valuations around US$1 trillion or more, constitutes a heady period of elevated risk and reward. SpaceX is targeting an IPO that would raise up to US$80 billion — about double the funds generated from all IPOs last year. OpenAI and Anthropic are eyeing IPOs raising US$60 billion. “We’re
RSS