00:00A legal dispute is brewing over these two plots of highly valuable yet barren land,
00:07what's supposed to be the site of NVIDIA's new Taiwan office.
00:11The Taipei City government says is looking to end things with the current contract holder,
00:16Xinguang Life, citing reasons of store development.
00:30But officials' main concern seems to be TS Financial Holdings,
00:37created from the merger of Xinguang and Taixing Financial.
00:41To transfer land use rights from the current subsidiary to the new parent company,
00:45the two need to obtain written consent from the Taipei City government, which they have not.
00:50But TS Financial Holdings says is ready to talk.
01:00Some city councillors also question Xinguang Life's demand for a termination fee,
01:19a claim that Xinguang Life has firmly denied.
01:22The company says it originally asked NVIDIA for $350 million to compensate for its projected profits
01:29in a written agreement.
01:31But since that agreement expired in late September,
01:35NVIDIA won't need to pay Xinguang Life, nor will the city government be responsible for payment.
01:41Meanwhile, the deadline for a settlement looms.
01:44NVIDIA has asked the economy ministry to offer a list of alternative sites by October 24th.
01:50As other major cities bid to host the tech giant,
01:52the Taipei City government has also suggested a smaller plot of land nearby, known as T-12,
01:58and is determined to state NVIDIA's top choice.
02:01The answer has shown very clearly, it is that only the Chinese and the Taipei State government
02:07will be able to make the decision through the administration of the government.
02:11The government's position is very clearly, we will in all the effort to fight for Taipei
02:16and we will also be able to make this happen fully."
02:22Whether or not Taipei can make that happen before NVDA's deadline, the common goal is
02:26to find a home for the company in Taiwan, to secure the country's strategic role in
02:31the global chip industry.
02:32Leon Lian and Irene Lin for Taiwan Plus.
Comments