Commercial property transactions last quarter declined 19 percent from the previous quarter to NT$27.7 billion (US$929.22 million), as monetary tightening and economic uncertainty pushed buyers and sellers to the sidelines, Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan (戴德梁行) said on Tuesday.
Office and industrial spaces accounted for NT$15.18 billion, or 54.9 percent of the overall trading, driven by expectations of increased rental incomes, the property consultancy said.
Rental income calculations led Kung Ching International Development Co (坤慶國際) and Universal Estate Development Co (環泥建設) to acquire property in the Uni-President International Building (統一國際大樓) near MRT Taipei City Hall Station in Xinyi District (信義) for NT$3.49 billion, it said.
Photo: CNA
In addition, President International Development Corp (統一國際開發), an affiliate of Uni-President Group (統一集團), increased its stake in the same complex to NT$5.9 billion, making it the largest deal in the second quarter of this year, the consultancy said.
ESLITE RENEWAL?
The transactions are parts of Uni-President Group’s attempt to have the decisive say on whether to renew the leasing contract with Eslite Bookstore’s Xinyi Branch (誠品信義), the popular bookstore chain’s only 24-hour property. The contract is due to expire next year.
The group reportedly frowns on the rent rates after landlords in the central business district raised rates by 30 percent or more in the past few years to reflect strong demand and tight supply.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
RSS