Almost all office spaces in the iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper continue to be leased out despite disruptions to the global economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company that owns the building said.
While some tenants have moved out because of the pandemic’s economic effects, several others, including financial and technology firms, have moved in, Taipei Financial Center Corp (TFCC, 台北金融大樓) chief operating officer Michael Liu (劉家豪) said.
The building is about 96 percent occupied, he said.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Financial Center Corp via CNA
The high occupancy rate echoes observations of property analysts, who have said that premium office space in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義), where Taipei 101 is located, remains in high demand, despite the pandemic.
Liu said that the Bureau Francais de Taipei, the French representative office in Taiwan, would soon move into the building, and four to five multinational financial institutions, fashion brands and high-tech companies could sign leases in the second quarter, which would bring the building near full occupancy.
To provide a better environment for the 13,000 employees of the building’s 120 tenants, Taipei 101 has created a shared space called Sky Park on the 35th floor, which aims to offer employees a space that supplements their home as well as their workplace, Liu said.
Phase 1 development of the 484 ping space (1,600m2) was completed early last year, and the second phase was finished at the beginning of this year, he said.
Sky Park offers space for work breaks and services such as restaurants, a convenience store, a pharmacy, and laundry and dental care services, Liu said, adding that a barber shop is planned.
The monthly rent for most spaces in Taipei 101 is from NT$3,500 to NT$4,500 per ping, while the rent on higher floors can be as high as NT$5,000 per ping.
Local media have reported that TFCC recently raised the rent in newly signed contracts, with rents 20 to 30 percent higher than before.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
TikTok abounds with viral videos accusing prestigious brands of secretly manufacturing luxury goods in China so they can be sold at cut prices. However, while these “revelations” are spurious, behind them lurks a well-oiled machine for selling counterfeit goods that is making the most of the confusion surrounding trade tariffs. Chinese content creators who portray themselves as workers or subcontractors in the luxury goods business claim that Beijing has lifted confidentiality clauses on local subcontractors as a way to respond to the huge hike in customs duties imposed on China by US President Donald Trump. They say this Chinese decision, of which Agence