Mitsui Investment Targets Mixed Residential-Commercial Housing

After building an OUTLET shopping mall in Linkou, New Taipei City, Japanese firm Mitsui Fudosan plans to develop mixed residential-commercial housing buildings in Taiwan next, initially targeting the greater Taipei capital region for investment.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., signed on behalf of the two parties by Chiu Yi-che, Director-General of the Investment Services Division, and Hiroyuki Shinozuka, General Manager of Mitsui Fudosan's Taipei branch.

Hiroyuki Shinozuka revealed that according to the company's plans, it intends to invest 500 billion yen globally by 2017, and this time, given Taiwan's high per capita income level and sound infrastructure, it has chosen to invest in Taiwan.

As for future investment plans in Taiwan, Hiroyuki Shinozuka pointed out that the company plans to invest in developing mixed residential-commercial housing buildings in Taiwan, initially targeting Taipei City, New Taipei City and Taoyuan County in the northern capital region, but that it is still at the stage of gathering information.

When media asked about the planned investment amount in Taiwan, Hiroyuki Shinozuka said it would still need to be determined based on the condition of the building properties; since Mitsui plans to invest 500 billion yen globally by 2017, he expressed hope to invest more in Taiwan.

However, it is understood that the Ministry of Economic Affairs intends to secure at least 1/3 of the 500 billion yen investment to remain in Taiwan.

Following Mitsui Fudosan, Chiu Yi-che revealed that early next year another Japanese firm engaged in ESCO environmental services and sewage treatment will also come to invest in Taiwan.

He mentioned that when the Investment Division organized a mobile investment promotion delegation to Japan in early December, many Japanese firms expressed to him that as cross-strait relations improve, they believe that by cooperating with Taiwanese firms they can advance into the mainland together, and he sensed that Japanese firms have expectations for the follow-up services and goods trade agreements under the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), and for Taiwan's free economic demonstration zones.