The groundbreaking ceremony was held today (4/13) for the new global operations headquarters of Eastern Group in New Taipei City, which is scheduled to open in 2025. Hou Yu-Ih, Mayor of New Taipei City, Kent Hsu, Chairman of Honhui Group, and Steven Pan, Chairman of Silks Hotel Group, also attended the ceremony to offer their congratulations. Thanks to its proximity to the international airport and MRT, the New Taipei City operations headquarters of Eastern Group will become a brand-new demonstration site for international media, creating an important lifestyle zone for the film and entertainment industry. It is evaluated that tens of billions of dollars will be invested in the construction of the 199-meter-high building, which will rise 251 meters from the Linkou Plateau, and is expected to become the new number one landmark of Linkou by then.
Gary Wang, President of Eastern Group, said in his speech: “Eastern has been a player in the media industry for more than 20 years. It has always been our dream to promote Taiwan’s popular music and entertainment industry into the international stage. When we set our mind out to do something, there’s no stopping us in becoming number one. In recent years, we have been creating content in Taiwan; in fact, Eastern has been the only company brave enough to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to produce large-scale IP programs such as “Jungle Voice” and “CooKing.” We have also lived up to the expectations by winning the Golden Bell Awards, the support of young people, and the attention of the Chinese-speaking entertainment sector worldwide. In the future, we will work together with the Mitsui Group and Sanlih Group to build the “Cannes of Taiwan” here, establish an Online merge Offline (OMO) environment for media and new technology, and hold various international events and e-sports activities. We will integrate the resources of ET New Media Holdings to become the most talked-about entertainment mecca in Taiwan and a leisure destination for the whole family. We thank the New Taipei City Government team for their assistance and Mayor Hou for his recognition. We expect to invest more than NT$10 billion into the new global operations headquarters of Eastern Group in New Taipei City. We will establish exhibition halls and shopping malls here, cooperate with the Silks Hotel Group to set up a five-star hotel and to build the “Grace Building,” which will serve as the global operation headquarters building of Eastern. The 199-meter-high building on top of the 251-meter-high Linkou Plateau reaches a height of 450 meters, which will become a new landmark in New Taipei City. Furthermore, it will drive the city’s development and create more than 10,000 jobs in the future.”
Hou Yu-Ih, Mayor of New Taipei City, said: “Linkou is a valuable location, and the south of the border of New Taipei. Today, New Taipei City welcomes the global headquarters of Eastern Group in Linkou, representing the internationalization of New Taipei. Under the leadership of President Gary Wang, Eastern Group is operating with a new concept of technology, with the advantages of digital media such as ETtoday, ETMall, as well as entertainment operations and media under Eastern Media International Corporation. With “new media,” “new technology,” and “new lifestyle” as the core of its operation, Eastern Group has entered the film and television, international cloud, and digital convergence industries. Eastern Group has recruited design and production industries related to film and television pre-production and post-production through the support of diversified emerging industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IOT), AR, and VR. In addition, a complete one-stop service is planned for family entertainment, pets, and health and recreation, which will create a brand-new attraction in Linkou. In the future, I believe that after the completion of this investment project, Linkou will become an important venue for the entertainment and media industries to connect with the global stage and create business opportunities. It is expected to attract 10 million visitors annually. 」
Hou Yu-Ih, Mayor of New Taipei City, also pointed out that Taiwan’s annual entertainment and media market is worth approximately US$15.5 billion, and that OTT video streaming, virtual reality (VR), online advertising, and music and radio services grew rapidly due to the pandemic; in addition, the pandemic also drove consumer demand for Internet and data. Although the pandemic has made social-distancing a part of life, it has created a new turning point for the entertainment media industry in terms of increased functionality for remote, virtual, streaming, and personalization trends. It has also highlighted the importance of linking to the international community for the production and export of the entertainment industry.
The “Linkou International Media Park” where Eastern Group will be located, is the most expensive public land investment project in recent times, promoted by the New Taipei City Government in cooperation with the National Property Administration. The site is adjacent to the Airport MRT A9 Linkou Station on the Taoyuan Airport MRT line and the Linkou Interchange, which is the most important gateway for international business and travelers to and from the Greater Taipei area. Eastern Group was awarded the bid for Site B of the Linkou International Media Park, in tandem with the bid for Site A by Mitsui and the bids for Sites C and D by Sanlih. It will bring together cross-disciplinary film and television entertainment industries such as new media, new entertainment, new business, and new technology, as well as commercial activities derived from film and television-related activities such as concerts, theater performances, and television show filming. Entertainment, leisure, tourism, and new 5G technologies will be incorporated, so that the site will become an implementation venue for AI film and entertainment in New Taipei City.
The much-anticipated design of the global operation headquarters of the Eastern Group in New Taipei City is expected to introduce a 4-story underground and 38-story above-ground corporate operation headquarters and a 6-story cultural and creative lifestyle and multifunctional exhibition center. Bai Sheng-San, the founder of TMA Architects and Associates, has been commissioned to lead the planning team. The base area covers 2.16 hectares of land. The above-ground area of the park is planned to be a 5-story exhibition center that can accommodate 5,000 people (including a shopping mall and food court), while the roof of the exhibition center will be the most unique church in Taiwan. The main office floors of the headquarters are planned to have a gymnasium and swimming pool on 30F, Eastern Natural Beauty Spa and Aesthetics Center on 28F, Biomedical Aesthetics and Wellness Center on 26F and 27F, film studio on 11F, staff cafeteria on 7F, and the Group’s corporate offices and business meeting centers on 12F-25F.
In addition, in anticipation of the annual consumption demand of the millions of visitors in the Greater Taipei and Taoyuan regions as well as the Northeast Coast, Eastern Group has joined forces with hospitality leader Silks Hotel Group to develop a business hotel on floors 29 to 36 of the Eastern Group headquarters building in Linkou, which will be operated by Silks Hotel Group’s new brand “Silks X,” and is expected to open in 2026. “Silks X” is located on the Linkou Plateau in New Taipei City, it will be the tallest hotel in Taiwan upon completion, as well as the second tallest city landmark in Taiwan. In addition, the Linkou International Media Park has the advantage of having three major corporations, namely, Eastern, Mitsui, and Sanlih, and aims to become the next Xinyi area. Currently, the area has attracted young people aged 28 to 45 to purchase homes, who will also become the main customer group of the hotel. It is expected to attract more than 10 million visitors per year, which will boost its operational performance.
The global operation headquarters of Eastern Group is expected to move in by 2025. By introducing the operation headquarters established by its new media and new retail business, as well as providing industry offices, film studios, and exhibition centers, it will become a production base for the film and television industry and an incubator for popular culture, which will create more leisure and entertainment experiences and employment opportunities for Linkou. In addition to celebrating the groundbreaking of the global headquarters, Eastern Group is also offering special promotions on ETMall, Eastern Natural Beauty, Strawberrynet, Eastern Commerce Company (Eckare), ETtoday Pets, and Mama Bear Shopping.
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