Taipei Financial Center Corp (TFCC, 台北金融大樓), which operates Taipei 101 — including its shopping mall, observatory deck and office space — aims to increase revenue to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels this year after taking a hard hit from the crisis last year, it said on Thursday.
TFCC president Angela Chang (張振亞) announced the goal at a news conference, when the firm unveiled a 42 percent slump in net income to NT$1.27 billion (US$44.4 million) for last year.
The results translated into earnings per share of NT$0.87, below NT$1 for the first time in seven years, as foreign tourist arrivals virtually stopped amid COVID-19 border controls.
Photo: Chuang Shih-hsien, Taipei Times
Although the unfavorable effects of the pandemic linger, Taipei 101 is to strengthen its shopping mall operation and maintain full occupancy for its office space in the city’s central business district, where leasing demand is strong with no new space available in the near term, Chang said.
The observatory deck previously generated 30 percent of overall revenue, but made a meager contribution last year, she said.
TFCC has set a goal of growing the shopping mall’s operation by 10 percent this year, helped by a continued economic recovery, and collaborations with domestic and foreign luxury brands to bolster high-end consumption.
The mall hosted more than 200 shows and exhibitions last year to consolidate its leadership position in sales of luxury watches, jewelry and other items, raising revenue 30 percent and mitigating the effects of the pandemic to single-digit percentage points, TFCC said.
A 10 percent increase is viable given that spending by 300,000 members soared 55 percent last year, with one-third of them being active shoppers, the company said.
The skyscraper’s operator is to spend NT$1.5 billion renovating the complex’s exterior, as well as its shopping area and parking spaces to make them more welcoming, TFCC said.
Taipei 101 has been able to raise rents, with upward adjustments reaching 45 percent in some cases, thanks to its landmark status, TFCC said.
CHIP RACE: Three years of overbroad export controls drove foreign competitors to pursue their own AI chips, and ‘cost US taxpayers billions of dollars,’ Nvidia said China has figured out the US strategy for allowing it to buy Nvidia Corp’s H200s and is rejecting the artificial intelligence (AI) chip in favor of domestically developed semiconductors, White House AI adviser David Sacks said, citing news reports. US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he would allow shipments of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China, part of an administration effort backed by Sacks to challenge Chinese tech champions such as Huawei Technologies Co (華為) by bringing US competition to their home market. On Friday, Sacks signaled that he was uncertain about whether that approach would work. “They’re rejecting our chips,” Sacks
Taiwan’s exports soared 56 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$64.05 billion last month, propelled by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and cloud service infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) called the figure an unexpected upside surprise, citing a wave of technology orders from overseas customers alongside the usual year-end shopping season for technology products. Growth is likely to remain strong this month, she said, projecting a 40 percent to 45 percent expansion on an annual basis. The outperformance could prompt the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and
NATIONAL SECURITY: Intel’s testing of ACM tools despite US government control ‘highlights egregious gaps in US technology protection policies,’ a former official said Chipmaker Intel Corp has tested chipmaking tools this year from a toolmaker with deep roots in China and two overseas units that were targeted by US sanctions, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Intel, which fended off calls for its CEO’s resignation from US President Donald Trump in August over his alleged ties to China, got the tools from ACM Research Inc, a Fremont, California-based producer of chipmaking equipment. Two of ACM’s units, based in Shanghai and South Korea, were among a number of firms barred last year from receiving US technology over claims they have
BARRIERS: Gudeng’s chairman said it was unlikely that the US could replicate Taiwan’s science parks in Arizona, given its strict immigration policies and cultural differences Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登), which supplies wafer pods to the world’s major semiconductor firms, yesterday said it is in no rush to set up production in the US due to high costs. The company supplies its customers through a warehouse in Arizona jointly operated by TSS Holdings Ltd (德鑫控股), a joint holding of Gudeng and 17 Taiwanese firms in the semiconductor supply chain, including specialty plastic compounds producer Nytex Composites Co (耐特) and automated material handling system supplier Symtek Automation Asia Co (迅得). While the company has long been exploring the feasibility of setting up production in the US to address
RSS