Game developer XPEC Entertainment Inc (樂陞科技) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Greater Kaohsiung City Government to build an art production center at the city’s Pier 2 Arts Center (高雄駁二藝術特區).
The project, worth NT$100 million (US$3.44 million), is expected to generate 500 jobs in Kaohsiung in the next three years, the city government said in a statement, citing Aaron Hsu (許金龍), chief executive officer and chairman of XPEC.
Hsu said the company would also help support 300 art professionals through the production of 100 works in the Kaohsiung center, the statement said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
The project will occupy a an area of 400m2 at the Pier 2 Arts Center’s No. 8 warehouse. It will become XPEC’s second production center after the Taipei-based company established its first art center in the Chinese city of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, in 2006.
Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) signed the MOU with Hsu at a ceremony held on a tourism yacht, which was also attended by former Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) chairperson Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥).
Chen said she welcomed XPEC’s investment in the Pier 2 Arts Center and expected the investment to help the city boost its industrial development, as well as lure more young talent to the southern port city.
The Pier 2 Arts Center has so far attracted investments from several visual effects production companies, including Rhythm & Hues Studios Inc, Sony Computer Entertainment Taiwan, White Rabbit Entertainment Inc (兔將創意影業) and Brogent Technologies Inc (智崴科技), and the city aims to develop the area into a special district designed for digital cultural and creative industries, she said.
XPEC, which trades its shares on the GRETAI Securities Market, has more than 700 employees in its Taipei, Beijing and Suzhou operations.
The company’s shares closed up 4.84 percent at NT$71.2 in Taipei trading yesterday, outperforming the TAIEX, which fell 0.88 percent. So far this year, XPEC shares have risen 15.3 percent, the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s data showed.
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