Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store Co (新光三越) yesterday sealed a deal with the Bureau of High Speed Rail to lease a building at Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to turn it into a shopping complex.
The nation’s leading chain department store, which won the 10-year operate-transfer (OT) contract last week for NT$505 million (US$15.6 million), will turn the building into a department store, which is slated to open next spring.
The deal will add 4.5 ping (15m²) of floor space to an adjacent Shin Kong department store that has 260,000 ping of floor space and is also due to open next spring.
Wu Tung-hsing (吳東興), chairman of the department store, said he hoped the OT project would enable his company to better serve residents of northern Kaohsiung.
The government-owned building, located between high-speed rail and mass rapid transit stations in Zuoying, has five stories above ground and two stories below ground. The MRT and high-speed rail stations are connected to it underground.
Chang Tze-yu (張子裕), deputy director of the station area development division at the bureau, said the OT project was part of a transit-oriented development plan to generate revenues and boost prosperity near high-speed rail stations. In the contract, the company may extend the lease by five years if it makes a profit in four of the contract’s 10 years.
Wu Nai-tzu (吳奈慈), regional director at Jones Land LaSalle, a property consulting firm, said the transaction promised a fair profitability outlook in light of heavy passenger traffic flow and scarce retail competition in the area.
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and US President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. However, since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees said. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, said three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems — which have not
TARIFF CONCERNS: The chipmaker cited global uncertainty from US tariffs and a weakening economic outlook, but said its Singapore expansion remains on track Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進), a foundry service provider specializing in producing power management and display driver chips, yesterday withdrew its full-year revenue projection of moderate growth for this year, as escalating US tariff tensions raised uncertainty and concern about a potential economic recession. The Hsinchu-based chipmaker in February said revenues this year would grow mildly from last year based on improving supply chain inventory levels and market demand. At the time, it also anticipated gradual quarter revenue growth. However, the US’ sweeping tariff policy has upended the industry’s supply chains and weakened economic prospects for the world economy, it said. “Now
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced