A local consortium yesterday signed an agreement with the Taipei City Government to develop a multibillion-dollar complex near Taipei Railway Station, ending more than a decade of uncertainty over the project.
The consortium — comprised of contract computer maker Clevo Co (藍天電腦) and its property affiliate Hongwell Group (宏匯集團) — is to build two high-rise buildings featuring upscale office space, shops and a five-star hotel, Clevo-Hongwell consortium head Kent Hsu (許崑泰) said at a signing ceremony in Taipei.
“It feels like being admitted to college after an outright rejection,” Hsu told reporters.
Photo: CNA
The consortium in December last year lost a bidding race to a foreign group led by Hong Kong-based Nan Hai Development Ltd (南海發展) and Malaysian property developer Malton Berhad by NT$15 billion (US$496.52 million at the current exchange rate).
However, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Investment Commission in June disqualified the winners, citing national security concerns.
The city government had tried, unsuccessfully, to find a developer for the project in five rounds of bidding spanning 13 years.
The project would cost NT$60.6 billion, with support from Hsu’s own capital, bank loans and government funds, the tech tycoon-turned developer said.
The mixed-used complex would feature two buildings of 56 and 76 stories intended to renew the area, with easy access to the railway and High-Speed Rail stations, as well as the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, the airport MRT Line and bus routes, the consortium said.
The towers would have 160,000 ping (528,926m2) of floor space, half of which would be set aside for grade-A office space, while shops would cover 30 percent and hotel rooms would occupy 10,000 ping, Hsu said, adding that there would also be performance halls.
The consortium plans to operate the shopping mall itself and is in talks with international hospitality brands on potential collaboration, he said.
“We will team up with whichever partner can generate the highest return,” Hsu said.
The consortium has promised landlords — the city government and other private owners — monthly rent of NT$2,500 per ping, which means that it needs to charge higher rates to turn a profit after the complex starts operations in 2027, Hsu said.
Local property funds have flowed to office buildings development due to a lack of new products on the horizon, he said, adding that the trend could reverse the landscape and create oversupply in a few years.
The consortium is prepared, as it deems the project a long-term investment that might not generate a profit in the first 10 years of operations, he said.
It would take two years for the venture to clear urban renewal reviews and another four to five years for construction and use license applications, he added.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS