Taipei: Shin Kong Life Insurance has proposed a “reasonable” fee for terminating the contract for a plot of land that chipmaker Nvidia Corp. is eyeing for its Taiwan headquarters, Deputy Mayor Lee Shu-chuan said Wednesday. Lee stated that the Taipei City government received an official document from the insurer suggesting a termination fee of NT$4.47 billion (US$144.52 million), which he deemed reasonable.

According to Focus Taiwan, although the insurer had already paid NT$3.44 billion to the government for land rights and rent, leaving a difference of NT$1.04 billion, this figure does not significantly deviate from the NT$800 million compensation the city had estimated. The discrepancy in compensation estimates is attributed to NT$100 million in taxes paid by Shin Kong Life to the central government and differing methods for calculating capital costs. Both the city and the insurer plan to hire accountants to review the proposals, hoping to finalize the amount and sign the termination agreement by Friday.

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aipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an assured the Taipei City Council that the termination fee will not burden the public, as it will be passed on to Nvidia as a rights fee. Taipei Department of Land Administration Director Wang Rui-yun confirmed that Nvidia is willing to cover the additional costs to establish its headquarters on the site.

The site in question, located in the Beitou Shilin Tech Park, became a point of contention between the city and the insurer after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced in May that the company had selected it for their Taiwan headquarters. Shin Kong Life, which acquired the land’s surface rights in 2021 through a public tender, has yet to develop the property. The city objected to a direct transfer of land rights to Nvidia, citing potential profiteering concerns, and requested a mutual contract termination instead.

Shin Kong Life argued that terminating the contract could be perceived as a breach of trust by its board of directors, potentially harming future benefits for the company. Des
pite these concerns, the insurer announced on October 22 its willingness to terminate the land contract with Taipei, provided it is reimbursed for costs incurred related to the land.