State-run Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行) last week said that it is teaming up with the 70-year-old Yangming Theater (陽明戲院) in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) to pursue urban renewal and help it transform into a mixed-use complex.
The venture would help enhance Hua Nan Commercial’s environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) rating.
The Financial Supervisory Commission in September last year included financing of old buildings in ESG ratings, giving Hua Nan Commercial an additional incentive to help with the project, the lender said.
Photo: Tsai Ya-hua, Taipei Times
The planned complex would retain the name of Yangming Theater to help people gain a better understanding of its history, Hua Nan Commercial added.
The complex is to have eight floors above ground and two basement floors, with retail stores to occupy the first and second floors, restaurants to occupy the third floor and movie theaters to occupy the fourth to eighth floors, the lender said.
FINANCING
Financing for urban renewal projects are not subject to selective credit controls that the central bank introduced in December last year and March to curb increases in property prices.
Hua Nan Commercial said that as of April, it had processed NT$29 billion (US$1.05 billion) of trust funds related to urban renewal projects, showing that it assigns great importance to supporting a key government policy.
Hua Nan Commercial and other listed companies in Taiwan are shoring up their ESG ratings, which serve as an investment guide for shareholders.
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