Department of Finance

The Department of Finance (hereafter called "DOF") of Taipei City Government (hereafter called "TCG") held the "Symposium on the International Valuation Standards Dialogue with Taiwan" on July 24 (Monday), invited International Valuation Standards Council (hereafter called IVSC) CEO Nicholas Talbot to Taipei City. Nick gave a speech and dialogue with domestic real estate/asset evaluation field experts, aiming to promote International Valuation Standards (IVS) and to integrate international evaluation technical specifications. 

CEO Talbot said that the purpose of IVSC is to harmonize and make valuation standards around the world consistent, open, and transparent. IVSC is an independent non-profit body with 200 members spanning 137 countries that sets global valuation standards for the valuation profession and the public interest. Nick had meetings with Commissioner You Shih-ming of DOF in the UK and Canada before. CEO Nick was invited to give a speech on the theme of Building Trust of Valuation through Commissioner You of DOF. Nick promotes the IVSC goals, vision, and revision of the new version of the IVS to the Taiwanese valuation community. Commissioner You of DOF said that Mayor Chiang Wan-an welcomes foreign investment very much, and it is very important for the investment valuation to be in line with international standards. When You was in charge of The Regulations on Real Estate Appraisal in central government, he already paid attention to the IVS over the years. You promotes Taiwanese standards to be in line with international standards and IVS as a reference for domestic valuation circles.

Scholars and experts were invited to talk today. Deputy Director Lin Chia-cheng, Department of Land Administration, Ministry of the Interior also said that the international evaluation criteria are of great reference and will be included as a reference for subsequent amendments to the Regulations on Real Estate Appraisal. President, Chinese Institute of Land Appraisal, Peng Chien-Wen said that the Institute is actively preparing for the Pan Pacific Congress of Real Estate Appraisers, Valuers and Counselors Conference in September this year. It is expected to invite 500 appraisal experts from 12 countries all over the world to come to Taiwan for exchanges and showcase the development of domestic appraisal in recent years to the world. Chairman Wang Doris Yi-Hsin of the Accounting Research and Development Foundation stated that in order to help companies improve their accounting systems and prepare financial reports that are properly expressed, the foundation fully introduces "International Financial Reporting Standards", formulate and issue auditing and evaluation standards, especially the number of evaluation standard has reached 15, and will continue to integrate with IVS. Professor Lin Tzu-chin, Associate Dean, College of Social Sciences, National Chengchi University, also shared the achievements of domestic academic research on valuation. Chairman Guo Guo-ren, National Real Estate Appraiser Guild of the Republic of China (Taiwan) said that there are 485 real estate appraisers practicing business across the country. In recent years, appraiser Winston Shih added they have continuously invited the domestic appraisal field to discuss valuation, and 14 Appraisal Guidance have been released. Taipei Real Estate Appraiser Guild Chairman Chung Shaw-yu, said that the Taipei Guild has issued 13 general rules, which have a complementary function with the national 14 Appraisal Guidance.

IVSC is headquartered in London, England, and the RICS Valuation – Global Standards Red Book issued by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors ("RICS") is also in line with IVS. In addition, the domestic property tax assessment is based on the house value and the Announced Land Value. Most cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe use multiple regression analysis (MRA) to estimate the real estate valuation. In recent years, the central and local governments have also experimented with Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA). The new version of IVS has also added a chapter on the valuation model, which has more basis for promoting property tax assessment valuation in Taiwan. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of the Interior, and the local government from counties and cities islands also sent representatives to participate in this conference.

According to statistics, Taiwan’s gross national wealth totaled NTD 284 trillion and its net national wealth totaled NTD 225.16 trillion. Among them, the net value of the household sector is NTD 157.21 trillion, and real estate accounts for more than 30%. According to statistics, the value of global real estate is more than USD 300 trillion. dollars. CEO Talbot said that IVS has quite matured in the evaluation of real estate. In recent years, it has further promoted the evaluation of business (enterprises), intangible assets, financial instruments, etc., and will pay more attention to Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) value. According to reports, intangible assets currently account for 87% of the value of S&P 500 companies in the US stock market, which has grown significantly compared to 17% in the 1975. DOF Commissioner You said that the total property value of Taipei City is about 10 trillion NTD, with land as the main asset. Although TCG also has operating funds such as the MRT Corporation, the Taipei Water department, and the Taipei City Secured Small Loans Service, TCG does not put as much as emphasis on business value as enterprises as governments’ main focus is on public service rather than business consideration. However, the value of the business and intangible assets embedded are still considerable.

After the meeting, CEO Talbot said that he now realized that the development of real estate valuation in Taiwan has been quite mature, and the communication with Taiwan's real estate/asset appraisal industry, government, and academic circles is of great significance for IVSC to have a profound professional appraisal dialogue with countries around the world. The CEO also welcomes Taiwan's real estate appraisal community to join the IVSC organization and work together to improve international appraisal technology and act as a stabilizing force for economic development.