Farglory Maps Out Aggressive Five-year Expansion Plan

Having carved out a leading position in local real estate development, the Farglory Group has mapped out an ambitious expansion plan for the next five years. Under this plan, the group will extend its reach into overseas markets and diversify into emerging sectors while cultivating the local real estate market more deeply, according to group chairman Chao Teng-hsiung in a recent exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Economic Daily News, sister publication of the Taiwan Economic News (TEN).

If the plan goes smoothly, it will help the group to maintain a 30% annual sales growth over the next five years. The group has targeted a 30% sales growth and 60% profit growth this year, compared with the 2010 figures of NT$150 billion in sales and NT$12 billion in profit.

The attain these targets, the company will roll out new development projects worth a total of NT$60 billion (US$2.1 billion at NT$29:US$1) this year, mostly in New Taipei City (formerly Taipei County), including the suburban centers of Xinzhuang and Xizhi. In Xizhi, for instance, the group will launch a mega project with 230,000 pings (one ping equals 36 square feet) of floor space, which will be furnished with everything the residents need for their daily lives, including transportation, entertainment, and culture. Chao reveals that the group has a sufficient inventory of land to accommodate its development projects for the next five years.

Meanwhile, following the government's nod of approval for Taiwanese construction firms to enter the Chinese market last year, Farglory has formed a joint venture with the Shimao Group of Shanghai and Taiwan's TECO Group to carry out large development projects in China, notably one in Nanjing and another in Pingtan Island, Fujian Province (inside the so-called West Taiwan-Strait Special Zone). Even before the formation of the joint venture, Chao had established a construction firm in China through a personal investment, which will list its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2012.

Moreover, Farglory has joined with the Mubadala Development Company, a state-run firm in Abu Dhabi, to launch a number of development projects on Sowwah Island in that country. The projects include luxury residences, office buildings, six-star hotels, and retail outlets.

To fund these overseas projects, the company recently raised US$210 million (NT$6.1 billion) through the issuance of global depository receipts (GDRs).

Furthermore, Chao says, the group will venture into the fields of biotechnology and solar energy. It has bought into a solar-energy startup, mainly for the production of solar-energy panels and solar cells. In addition, it has invested in a local pharmaceutical firm and a bio-tech firm for the production of health foods.