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.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
‘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
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
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
RSS