Contract computer maker Clevo Co (藍天電腦) and property affiliate Hongwell Group (宏匯集團) yesterday shed more light on plans for a multibillion-dollar development project, saying they expect it to generate annual returns of 5 to 8 percent, better than interest income from bank deposits.
The local consortium is competing against a foreign team — consisting of Hong Kong’s Nan Hai Corp (南海控股) and Malaysian property developer Pavilion Group (柏威年集團) — for the Taipei Twin Towers development project near Taipei Railway Station.
Both contenders have passed qualification reviews, the Taipei City Government said in a statement on Tuesday, as many have raised concern over Chinese capital hiding behind either team.
Local insurers and developers, while expressing interest, have stayed away for fear of resistance from a few small private landowners, a problem that has plagued several urban renewal projects.
The city government said it would announce the winner by the end of this month after failing to auction the contract over the past 20 years.
Clevo chairman Kent Hsu (許崑泰) said his team intends to build a mixed-use complex featuring two towers of 56 and 76 stories that would house retail stores, movie theaters, office space, restaurants, hotel rooms and an observatory on the rooftop.
Office space would take up 63.84 percent of total floor space, while retail stores and hotel rooms would occupy the remaining 23.48 percent and 12.68 percent respectively, the team said.
International property broker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (JLL) has said it plans to move its office in Taipei 101 to the new complex to take advantage of its proximity to the railway, high speed rail and MRT stations.
Hsu, who owns Chicony Electronics Co (群光電子) and the China-based Buynow (百腦匯) retail chain, said the development project would cost NT$60.6 billion (US$1.97 billion) and could be completed in four to six years.
The venture could start to generate a profit after nine to 10 years and recover the cost in 20 to 30 years, Hsu said.
“We have a long-term view for the project, which would be an environmentally friendly landmark in the region,” Hsu said.
The group has experience in joint ventures with the government, as it is responsible for three such projects in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) and New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊).
The team would collaborate with US architecture and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP to build the complex and invite Hyatt Hotels Corp to run the hotel, Hsu said.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
RSS