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.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
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