The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday approved an application from US artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia Corp to set up a subsidiary in Taiwan.
Nvidia is to invest NT$1 billion (US$32.12 million) to set up the Taiwanese subsidiary, the ministry said.
The ministry had approved Nvidia’s application to set up a subsidiary in late September, but the US company resubmitted its application on Wednesday last week, raising its investment to NT$1 billion.
Photo: EPA
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 and site services, on Tuesday, he was told that Nvidia was in the process of opening a subsidiary in Taiwan.
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 research-and-development 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.
Edman also provided a letter of intent to build its Taiwanese 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 Taiwanese headquarters project.
Taipei is 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 (新光人壽) for the T17 and T18 lots in the science park, where Nvidia wants 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 was scheduled to hold a special board meeting yesterday afternoon to discuss the contract termination.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) yesterday said 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.
JITTERS: Nexperia has a 20 percent market share for chips powering simpler features such as window controls, and changing supply chains could take years European carmakers are looking into ways to scratch components made with parts from China, spooked by deepening geopolitical spats playing out through chipmaker Nexperia BV and Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. To protect operations from trade ructions, several automakers are pushing major suppliers to find permanent alternatives to Chinese semiconductors, people familiar with the matter said. The industry is considering broader changes to its supply chain to adapt to shifting geopolitics, Europe’s main suppliers lobby CLEPA head Matthias Zink said. “We had some indications already — questions like: ‘How can you supply me without this dependency on China?’” Zink, who also
The number of Taiwanese working in the US rose to a record high of 137,000 last year, driven largely by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) rapid overseas expansion, according to government data released yesterday. A total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year, an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. Overseas employment had steadily increased between 2009 and 2019, peaking at 739,000, before plunging to 319,000 in 2021 amid US-China trade tensions, global supply chain shifts, reshoring by Taiwanese companies and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) received about NT$147 billion (US$4.71 billion) in subsidies from the US, Japanese, German and Chinese governments over the past two years for its global expansion. Financial data compiled by the world’s largest contract chipmaker showed the company secured NT$4.77 billion in subsidies from the governments in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first three quarters of the year to about NT$71.9 billion. Along with the NT$75.16 billion in financial aid TSMC received last year, the chipmaker obtained NT$147 billion in subsidies in almost two years, the data showed. The subsidies received by its subsidiaries —
At least US$50 million for the freedom of an Emirati sheikh: That is the king’s ransom paid two weeks ago to militants linked to al-Qaeda who are pushing to topple the Malian government and impose Islamic law. Alongside a crippling fuel blockade, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has made kidnapping wealthy foreigners for a ransom a pillar of its strategy of “economic jihad.” Its goal: Oust the junta, which has struggled to contain Mali’s decade-long insurgency since taking power following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, by scaring away investors and paralyzing the west African country’s economy.
RSS