Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽) yesterday won the superficies rights to a plot of land in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) for NT$15.98 billion (US$523.93 million), a premium of 60 percent on the asking price.
The life insurer won the auction for a 50-year lease to redevelop the 2,147 ping (7,085m2) plot where the Xinyi District Household Registration Office stands, outbidding developers Yuan Lih Group (元利建設) and How Yu Construction Co (豪昱營造).
The office building next to Taipei 101 is qualified for urban renewal, with a preferential floor space ratio of 560 percent of the plot.
The auction result means the Taipei City Government could collect NT$118 million a year in rental income from the plot.
Sinyi Global Management Co (全球資產管理), a property management unit of Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋), said the premium reflected the popularity and rarity of superficies rights for plots in the district, where demand for grade-A office space is gaining momentum, but there is no new supply on the horizon.
Vacancy rates in the area have fallen below 3 percent, while monthly rents have climbed to NT$4,500 per ping for new office space, Sinyi Global said.
The rosy outlook explains why Nan Shan Life made a generous offer after occupancy at its affiliated Taipei Nan Shan Plaza next to Taipei 101 reached 80 percent in the first year of operation, Sinyi Global said.
Rents will likely rise above NT$5,000 per ping upon the completion of the new commercial complex, the property broker said.
Potential contenders are turning their attention to an adjacent lot on the site of the Taipei World Trade Center’s Exhibition Hall 3 that is slated for a superficies rights auction in the second half of next year.
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