The commercial property market could see another boom after soaring 56 percent to NT$149.5 billion (US$5.26 billion) last year, driven by strong demand for industrial and office spaces, as well as government-backed urban renewal projects, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (JLL) said on Tuesday.
Government-backed development projects near Taipei Railway Station, Taiwan Power Co’s (台電) former office in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) and Kaohsiung’s “Asia New Bay Area” (亞洲新灣區) could hit NT$190 billion or higher this year, JLL Taiwan managing director Tony Chao (趙正義) told a news briefing in Taipei.
The tender offers are likely to draw close attention given limited land supply in popular locations across the nation, Chao said.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
Commercial property deals could reach NT$100 billion this year, and land transactions could surpass NT$200 billion, he said.
Land deals, including superfices rights, amounted to NT$287.5 billion last year, JLL Taiwan said, adding that residential plots underpinned 56 percent, as developers aggressively built land inventories, notably in New Taipei City and Taichung.
Tainan also attracted heavy property funds after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, announced plans to set up new plants in the area, JLL Taiwan said.
TSMC’s suppliers would soon follow suit and the cluster effect would spur demand for residential spaces, Chao said.
Some tech firms have teamed up with builders to develop residential complexes, and the market might see more such collaborations, he said.
In related news, vacancy rates for grade A offices in Taipei edged up 0.1 percent to 2.16 percent last quarter, while rents grew a fractional 0.6 percent, JLL Taiwan said.
The mild increase in vacancy rates came because some firms relocated to make way for other corporate tenants to earn rental income, JLL Taiwan said.
The office market remains tight, and companies with space to spare are leasing it to make money, the consultancy said.
US PROBE: The Information reported that the US Department of Commerce is investigating whether the firm made advanced chips for China’s Huawei Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract maker of advanced chips, yesterday said it is a law-abiding company, and is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations including export controls. The Hsinchu-based chip giant issued the statement after US news Web site The Information ran a story saying that the US Department of Commerce has launched a probe into TSMC over whether it breached export rules by making smartphone or artificial intelligence (AI) chips for China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為). “We maintain a robust and comprehensive export system for monitoring and ensuring compliance,” the statement said. “If we
DEMAND FOR AI CHIPS: Net income in the third quarter surged 31.2% quarter-on-quarter to NT$325.26 billion, the strongest quarterly return in the company’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday raised its revenue forecast to annual growth of 30 percent this year, thanks to strong and sustainable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) processors for servers. It was the second upward adjustment from 25 percent year-on-year growth estimated three months ago, despite recent concerns about whether the AI boom could be another technology bubble. “The demand is real. It’s real. And I believe it is just the beginning of this demand. Alright, so one of my key customers said the demand right now is ‘insane,’” TSMC chairman and chief executive C.C.
Starbucks Corp might have the more recognizable name, but 7-Eleven’s City Cafe remains the king of Taiwan’s fresh coffee market, helped by the convenience store chain’s extensive market presence and product diversification. President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), which runs both the 7-Eleven and Starbucks store chains in Taiwan, established the City Cafe brand in 2004. The brand took off when actress Gwei Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) became its spokesperson in 2007. City Cafe’s sales exceeded NT$10 billion (US$311.69 million) for the first time in 2015, surpassing the revenue of Starbucks Taiwan, and rose to more than NT$17 billion last year, exceeding the NT$14.98
COUNTRY-BASED: Setting ceilings on sales of the technology would tighten limits that originally targeted China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence amid security risks US officials have discussed capping sales of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Nvidia Corp and other American companies on a country-specific basis, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would limit some nations’ AI capabilities. The new approach would set a ceiling on export licenses for some countries in the interest of national security, according to the people, who described the private discussions on condition of anonymity. Officials in the administration of US President Joe Biden focused on Persian Gulf countries that have a growing appetite for AI data centers and the deep pockets to fund them, the people