TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- The D1 section of the Taipei World Trade Center in the city's ritzy Xinyi District which has been dubbed the "most expensive vegetable garden" was sold yesterday (April 18) by Fubon Financial Holding Co., Ltd. for NT$3.55 billion US$120 million), half the price of adjacent property, but the company thinks the price is reasonable, reported CNA.
Fubon entrusted Taiwan Financial Asset Service Corporation to publicly auction four plots of land opposite the World Trade Center in Taipei covering a total area of 789.83 ping (a ping equals 3.3 square meters), with the minimum bid being NT3.5 billion at approximately NT$4.43 million per ping. The plots ended up selling for NT$3.55 billion at a rate of approximately NT$4.49 million per ping, resulting in Fubon earning a profit of NT$1.171 billion.
However, due to the fact that when the real estate in the area was hot, the price per ping in plots nearby D1 actually frequently exceeded NT$9 million, yesterday's actual transaction price was less than half of the market value.
Fubon stated that according to relevant regulations regarding the development plans of Taipei's Xinyi District, the minimum development scale of a building's base area must reach 3,000 square meters (907.5 ping), and the ratio of residential buildings must not exceed 1/3, but the land auctioned in this case does not meet the minimum scale required for developments in the area. In order to meet the requirements of laws and regulations, it will be necessary to merge surrounding land in order to be able to build in the area, according to Fubon.
Fubon said the price D1 sold for, though lower than the surrounding areas, was in a reasonable range because it cannot be developed independently, and it added that the benefits will be returned to the parent company and create maximum returns for shareholders.