Baker McKenzie has expertise in coordinating local, international and transnational real estate and construction transactions. The team is experienced across a variety of project types including government-financed and BOO, BOT and BOOT projects, where it regularly handles risk assessments and allocation, tender preparation and bidding, contracting, project administration, and eventual dispute resolution. The practice is jointly headed by infrastructure and construction specialist Tiffany Huang and David Liou, who was lead partner on a $737m deal for the development and construction of a 6-star hotel in Taipei city centre.
Real estate and construction in Taiwan
Baker McKenzie
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Northland Power Inc.
Mandarina Crown Hotel / Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
American Institute in Taiwan
Work highlights
- Project counsel for Northland Power on two offshore wind farm projects.
- Advised Mandarina Crown Hotel in the development and construction of a 6-star property in the city center of Taipei managed by the international franchise Mandarin Oriental in a deal worth approximately $767m.
- Advised the American Institute in Taiwan on the acquisition of a developing project in Taipei for staff housing.
Jones Day
Jones Day is well known for domestic and international real estate matters, as well as construction-related disputes and arbitration proceedings. In the domestic space, the team advises on property acquisitions, leases and hotel management issues, while on the international stage it advises clients on outbound real estate transactions and also regularly acts for international investors on high-value Taiwan property acquisitions. The practice is jointly headed by Raymond Wang and Marianne Chao, who has a great deal of experience in construction and infrastructure. Also recommended is Jean Kuo, who maintains a projects and construction-related M&A practice.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Shin Kong Financial Holding Co.
Taipei American School
Fubon Financial Holding
Gaw Capital
Gateway Capital Real Estate Fund
Far Eastern New Century Corporation
JERA Co., Inc.
Work highlights
- Advised Shin Kong Life Insurance Company Limited – a company controlled by Shin Kong Financial Holding Company Limited, one of the largest financial groups in Taiwan – in its acquisition of property from Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors, in a deal worth approximately £137m.
- Advised Taipei American School with respect to the construction of a new technology building.
- Provided non-adversarial advice to Hotel Kingdom chairperson Jin-Yi Wu on transactional and rental affairs relating to inherited lots of land from his father, valued at over $30m.
- Advised Far Eastern New Century Corporation with constructing and leasing large-scale built-to-lease business offices and R&D centre.
- Provided legal advice to Fubon Financial Holding Co. with respect to the widely reported XinZhuang Baseball Stadium OT Project.
Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law
The team at Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law provides a full range of real estate and construction services, including commercial sales and purchases, advice on zoning and construction issues, and dispute resolution. Clients include multinational enterprises and domestic companies in virtually all business sectors, from warehouses to government agencies.
Lin & Partners Attorneys-At-Law
Lin & Partners Attorneys-At-Law has a particularly strong offering in matters relating to public sector real estate and construction work, and benefits from its fully integrated government affairs and public policy group. Co-headed by George Lin and David Lee, the practice group also handles construction-related disputes. Recent highlights include advising the Taipei city government's Urban Regeneration Office on drafting urban redevelopment policies and plans, managing redevelopment funds, and the financial analysis of redeveloped real estate.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘Exceptionally good team’
Key clients
Construcciones Y Auxiliar De Ferrocarriles, S.A.
Taiwan Green Power Co., Ltd.
Railway Reconstruction Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications
MRT Engineering Office, Bureau of High Speed Raid, Ministry of Transportation and Communications
Taoyuan International Airport Co., Ltd.
Taipei City Government
Taichung City Government
Kaohsiung City Government
National Taiwan University
Ju Fu Fashion Development Corp.
Work highlights
- Represented Taoyuan International Airport in a dispute with a contractor in a case with a value of $90m.
- Advised Taipei city government’s Urban Regeneration Office
- Acted as local counsel to Taiwan National University in a public housing project.
- Advised Ju Fu Fashion Development on its build-operate-transfer agreement with Keelung City Government in a deal worth $20m.
- Advised Railway Reconstruction Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications in a dispute with a contractor in a case wroth $2.8m.
Tsar & Tsai Law Firm
Tsar & Tsai Law Firm has experience in real estate development, property investment and sales transactions, and hotel and resort franchising and management. The names to note are Lillian Chu, who has experience in hotel building and infrastructure projects and in investment planning, and Wellington Liu, who focuses on real estate investment and corporate law.
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
True Blue Development Limited
Taiwan Life Insurance
Fortune Fountain International Investment
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide
Marriot International
Accorhotels
Artyzen CitizenM Asia
Work highlights
- Advised Eterbright Solar Corporation in a construction-related litigation.
- Advised True Blue Development, a luxury hotel developer, in the sale and marketing of foreign real estate.
- Advised Taiwan Life Insurance on a real estate development project with other investors.
- Advised Marriott International on investments in hotel management.
- Advised Fortune Fountain International Investment on legal issues related to a real estate sale.
Chien Yeh Law Offices
Chien Yeh Law Offices focuses on urban renewals and large-scale commercial real estate developments, with the majority of its work being with BOT and PPP structures. Headed by Charles Chang, who specialises in public tenders and infrastructure-related litigation, the team also handles real estate arbitration and litigation. James Wu, who is prominent in cases involving large-scale development of commercial lands and secured-loan applications, is also noted.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
AECOM
THI Consultants Inc.
Work highlights
- Represented AECOM, a firm of engineering consultants, in a build-operate-transfer relating to a Kaohsiung wastewater plant.
- Represented Cushman &Wakefield, commercial property and real estate consultants, and provided legal advisory service in a project in the construction of Terminal Three of Taoyuan International Airport.
- Represented Colliers, a commercial real estate organisation, and provided legal advisory service in a project in relation to the development of Xindian District Office metro station.
Formosan Brothers Attorneys at Law
Formosan Brothers Attorneys at Law advises on a range of real estate, construction and infrastructure matters, including joint venture and consortia agreements, privatisation agreements, public procurement; urban planning and renewal, and construction-related litigation. Names to note include Chiu-Hua Chen, who is experienced in project financing related to large-scale real-estate acquisitions, and Shiue-Chuan Wang, who focuses on construction-related disputes with a niche in insurance coverage issues.
Other key lawyers:
Work highlights
- Reviewing a project to build a shopping centre on behalf of a life insurance company who purchased the land.
- Assisted a semiconductor and telecommunications company with a construction investment deal with Hsinchu Tech Park and the city government.
- Represented a construction company seeking reimbursement from the Taiwan Power Company for problems in the construction of a nuclear power plant.
- Represented an airport management company in a dispute over a BOT contract.