About US$5.5 billion worth of commercial property changed hands in Taiwan last year, soaring 49 percent from a year earlier to a record high, fueled by strong performance in the industrial sector and a substantial hotel deal, Real Capital Analytics Inc said in a report yesterday.
“Taiwan made record in a positive way, thanks to the benefits of coming down hard on the COVID-19 pandemic and border controls early last year paid dividends for commercial property investors,” said David Green-Morgan, Real Capital managing director for the Asia-Pacific region.
It was the second time that Taiwan outperformed Singapore in commercial property deals, Green-Morgan said.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, Bloomberg
Industrial investments received a boost from continued realignment of electronics supply chains in the region, prompted by US-China trade tensions and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Real Capital said.
Sales of commercial property in the Asia-Pacific region picked up in the fourth quarter of last year, ending the pandemic-blighted year on a brighter note, it said.
Fourth-quarter sales reached US$44.7 billion, 10 percent lower than the same period in 2019 before the pandemic cast a shadow over the region, it added.
Last year’s sales in the region totaled US$141.2 billion across major income-producing property types, slumping 23 percent from a peak a year earlier, Real Capital said.
Several sectors and geographies surpassed previous levels in terms of dealmaking, despite the challenges presented by lockdowns, travel bans and the dimmed economic outlook, it said.
Taiwan, South Korea and India all hit record acquisition levels as a surge in demand for logistics facilities and data centers bolstered the industrial sector, it said.
Sales of development sites, principally in China, recovered 9 percent in the final quarter from a year earlier, but fell 7 percent for the whole of last year, with annual deal volume of US$628.5 billion, it added.
“The market has steadied and saw a rebound in the fourth quarter after a bleak and uncertain start to 2020,” Green-Morgan said.
The trend bodes well for market activity as Real Capital said it saw a number of deals across the region roll over into this year.
The industrial sector would forge ahead, thanks mainly to record trading of logistics assets and a spike in demand for data centers, it said.
Transactions in the logistics sector exceeded US$13 billion for the third consecutive year, as demand continues to outstrip supply, Real Capital said.
Data center deals more than tripled over the 2019 levels to almost US$5 billion in investment, it said.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
EARLY TALKS: Measures under consideration include convincing allies to match US curbs, further restricting exports of AI chips or GPUs, and blocking Chinese investments US President Donald Trump’s administration is sketching out tougher versions of US semiconductor curbs and pressuring key allies to escalate their restrictions on China’s chip industry, an early indication the new US president plans to expand efforts that began under former US president Joe Biden to limit Beijing’s technological prowess. Trump officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch counterparts about restricting Tokyo Electron Ltd and ASML Holding NV engineers from maintaining semiconductor gear in China, people familiar with the matter said. The aim, which was also a priority for Biden, is to see key allies match China curbs the US
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
Berkshire Hathaway Inc is looking to increase ownership in Japan’s five largest trading houses “over time,” company chairman and CEO Warren Buffett said in an annual letter to shareholders. The conglomerate had originally agreed to keep its holdings in the companies below 10 percent. However, the trading houses have agreed to relax the ceiling “moderately,” as Berkshire approaches the limit, a letter dated on Saturday said. The shares of the five — Mitsubishi Corp, Mitsui & Co, Itochu Corp, Sumitomo Corp and Marubeni Corp — have benefited over the longer-term from Buffett’s interest. However, they have struggled in recent months, along with
RSS