Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評) has downgraded the credit outlook for Taipei Financial Center Corp (台北金融大樓) from “stable” to “negative,” as the operator of the Taipei 101 skyscraper has seen a slump in tourists and shoppers.
The local arm of S&P Global Ratings said the negative outlook reflects the likely deterioration in the company’s credit profile this year and uncertainty over a recovery.
A dire lack of foreign tourists would diminish revenue from its observatory and tourist spending at its shopping mall, the agency said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The number of foreign visitors dropped close to zero over the past few weeks due to border controls and flight bans to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“We expect international travel to remain muted for six more months, as the number of infections is still on the rise worldwide,” Taiwan Ratings said, expecting a modest recovery toward the end of the year.
That might affect the number of visitors to the observatory and the observation deck’s revenue this year by up to 80 percent, it said.
Local customers have also reduced shopping frequency to avoid infections, it added.
Retail sales at the Taipei 101 shopping center are forecast to drop by 31 to 35 percent given the store’s collection of luxury and fashion brands for which consumption is discretionary in nature, it said.
The office building’s rental income would not be affected by the pandemic, because rental rates are fixed and long-term in nature, it said.
In addition, the Taipei 101 building has built up a strong tenant portfolio, mostly high-profile global firms and large domestic companies that can afford above-average rents, it said.
However, office rent accounts for only 26 percent of overall operating income and would not be sufficient to compensate for the slowdown in other segments, it said.
This story has been modified since it was first published to avoid any inconvenience caused to Taipei Financial Center Corp.
Cairo’s new monorail slices across the city skyline, running above the familiar chaos of blaring horns and aging buses’ exhaust fumes that mark rush hour below. The US$4.5 billion monorail, opened this month, is among Egypt’s most prominent new transport projects, part of a debt-funded infrastructure drive criticized for sapping state finances while bringing limited benefits to most of the country’s 109 million people. “It feels like you’re in a different country,” said Ramy Sayed, a restaurant manager, aboard a driverless Innovia 300 train. “No noise, no traffic, we’re not used to this.” The eastern line runs 56km from the bustling middle-class
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be
Taiwanese prosecutors suspect that three people successfully smuggled at least one shipment of Nvidia Corp artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China after first exporting them to Japan, people familiar with the matter said. The trio was detained last week by the Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office for allegedly falsifying documents related to exports of Super Micro Computer Inc servers containing advanced Nvidia chips, which the US has barred from sale to China without a license from Washington. The move marked Taiwan’s first public crackdown on AI chip diversion after years of pressure from the US to take a more active role in curtailing
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) employee bonuses are likely to grow more than 30 percent this year, in line with the past few years as the company’s profits continue to set new records, an anonymous source cited TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) as saying yesterday. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is committed to taking care of its workers, the source said, citing Wei’s meeting with employees yesterday morning. Wei also expressed gratitude to employees for their contribution to the company’s improving bottom line, the source added. Since 2023, TSMC’s employee bonuses have grown at an annual rate of
RSS