MOEA approves Nvidia's application to set up Taiwan subsidiary

Taipei, Nov. 21 (CNA) The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has approved an application from U.S. artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia Corp. to set up a subsidiary in Taiwan, it said Friday.

Nvidia will invest NT$1 billion (US$32.12 million) to set up the Taiwan subsidiary, the MOEA said after giving the investment the green light on Friday.

According to the MOEA, the ministry approved Nvidia's application to set up a subsidiary in late September, but the American company resubmitted its application on Nov. 12, raising its investment to NT$1 billion.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) had told reporters on Thursday that when he met with Scott Ekman, Nvidia's global vice president for real estate & site services, on Tuesday, he was told that Nvidia was in the process of opening a subsidiary in Taiwan.

Currently, Nvidia has three branches registered in Taiwan: Nvidia Hong Kong Holdings Ltd. Taiwan branch, Nvidia (BVI) Holdings Ltd. Taiwan branch and Singapore Development Pte Taiwan branch.

Nvidia has not said why it applied for a subsidiary in Taiwan at this time, but having a subsidiary means it can independently hold assets, make large-scale purchases, sign more complex contracts, and have more flexibility in handling local tax and R&D funding issues.

That is because unlike a branch, a subsidiary is an independent legal entity from its parent company and has its own liabilities, assets, and tax obligations.

Meanwhile, Edman also provided a letter of intent to build its Taiwan headquarters in the Beitou Shilin Tech Park when he met with Chiang on Tuesday.

Chiang said he and Edman are expected to meet again ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in February to sign an agreement on the Taiwan headquarters project.

Taipei is currently clearing the way for Nvidia to build the headquarters.

It is in the process of terminating a contract giving the surface rights to Shin Kong Life Insurance Co. for the T17 and T18 lots of land in the science park, where the U.S. company wanted to build its Taiwan headquarters.

The city government has proposed a payment of NT$4.43 billion for the insurer to relinquish the land use rights before transferring it to Nvidia.

Shin Kong Life is scheduled to hold a special board meeting Friday afternoon to discuss the contact termination.

Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) said Friday the city and the company could sign an agreement to complete the deal next week.

Shin Kong Life obtained the land's surface rights in 2021 after winning a public tender but has yet to begin development.

The city government objected to allowing the insurer to directly transfer the rights to Nvidia, citing concerns about potential profiteering, and requested a mutual contract termination.