Land Prices Too High for Returning Taiwanese Businesses|台商返台喊缺地 關鍵出在北部土地太貴

Land shortage and price hike problem is worsening after some businesses returned to Taiwan in the wake of the China-U.S. trade war. Prices at Wugu Industrial Zone start at NT$ 800,000 per ping. This means building one single plant would cost at least NT$ 450 million. That's why the Ministry of Economic Affairs has published a list of idle industrial land plots and said it would start auctioning land that has not been used for over three years. However, experts said most idle land is in rural parts of central or southern Taiwan, which may reduce the market's appetite to invest.


New Taipei Industrial Park is desperate for tenants, with "For Rent" and "For Sale" signs everywhere. This does not bode well for the huge swathe of industrial land along the MRT, which is not even under development yet. Taiwan's industrial sector is plagued by five major shortages, including competitively priced land. While some Taiwanese businesses are considering a return to Taiwan due to the China-U.S. trade war, commercial realtors say Taiwan's land shortage is not caused by lack of available land, but available land at a reasonable price. The problem is particularly severe in northern Taiwan.

At (NT$ 300,000) a ping and 1,500 pings per plant, the (total cost) may be NT$ 450 million. Then you add the construction cost on top of that. For a 2,000-ping plant, the total cost may be NT$ 600-700 million plus construction and equipment costs.

Taiwanese businesses that are thinking about moving operations back to the island have to buy land and build plants, but the cost is simply too high if they care about location. According to the latest figures, in northern Taiwan Wugu is the most expensive with prices ranging from NT$ 800,000 to NT$ 1 million per ping. Industrial land prices start at NT$ 200,000 per ping in Zhongli and Taichung and are NT$ 150,000 to NT$ 180,000 per ping in Hsinchu. In contrast, industrial land is available at Tainan Technology Industrial Park for just NT$ 60,000 to NT$ 80,000 per ping.

Per-ping prices around Taichung are at least NT$ 300,000 to NT$ 400,000. Land at industrial parks is almost more expensive than residential zones. This government needs to address and resolve this problem immediately, or else Taiwanese businesses won't come back.

(Buying industrial land) in the north is impossible. With (pollution restrictions), you have to look for land in industrial zones. If these businesses come back, will they go look for land in industrial zones? I would guess if they come back, they're going to be looking for farmland.

Experts say high-polluting companies may not be able to find land even if they are willing to pay the high prices because of pollution emission restrictions. They are calling on the Tsai administration to bring Taiwanese businesses back to Taiwan by helping them find suitable land.