KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — Malaysian real estate firm IOI Properties Group Bhd said today it had no plans to manage the owner of the Taipei 101 skyscraper it wants to buy into, after the Taiwan government said it opposed foreign control of the landmark.
IOI Properties, controlled by Malaysian billionaire Lee Shin Cheng, last week said it was planning to buy a stake in Taipei Financial Centre Corp (TFCC) for about US$790 million (RM275.50 million).
Taiwan’s investment regulator, however, said they would give the deal a strict review after the finance minister said the iconic skyscraper should not be controlled by foreigners.
In a statement, IOI said it never intended to seek management control of the TFCC. The company has previously said the purchase would provide it with stable income from a landmark building that is one of the world’s tallest.
Taipei 101’s tenants include Google Taiwan, the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp, KPMG and BNP Paribas.
IOI Properties, with a market value of US$2.25 billion, said it would finance the purchase with bank loans and/or internally generated funds. — Reuters
