UMC to float 600 million shares in ADRs in June
Taipei, March 22, 2000 (CENS)--United Microelectronics Corp., the world's second largest wafer foundry, plans to sell 600 million UMC shares in the form of American depository receipts (ADRs) in June, UMC vice chairman, John Hsuan, said Wednesday.
The ADR issue is expected to help the chipmaker raise a sum of NT$60 billion in new capital, Hsuan said, adding that the company will use the proceeds to finance the construction of its 12-inch wafer plant.
The 12-inch wafer foundry is being built at the Tainan Science-based Industrial Park in southern Taiwan. The new plant is scheduled to test run in the third quarter of 2001.
After the completion of the merger with four of its affiliates for production of memory chips, UMC will push for the listing of its four IC design companies either on Taiwan's over-the-counter stock market, or on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the U.S., Hsuan said.
Two of the four IC-design houses, Mediatek Inc. and Novatek Microelectronics Corp., are expected to be listed on the local OTC stock market, he added. Mediatek engages in the development of CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and multimedia related ICs, while Novatek develops ICs for telecommunication devices.
Meanwhile, the executive said the company currently has no plans to raise its charges on wafer fabrication if its gross margin is able to remain at 40%, despite a tight production schedule.
But Hsuan confirmed that UMC will discontinue the wafer fabrication for Silicon Integrated Systems, one of Taiwan's leading chipset makers, because Silicon is to build its own 12-inch wafer foundry also in the Tainan Science-based Industrial Park.
Currently, UMC has no plans to branch its production lines to mainland China, but will consider the possibility if the new government to be formed by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party opens direct trade, transportation and telecommunications with the mainland. |
