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To: Steve Lewis who wrote (6762)	1/6/2000 1:50:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 9582

umc closed @115.50 -2.50 vol 93,532,000 ++++++++++++++++ ''Based on the past experience and because the U.S. is only reflecting the concern of U.S. interest rates, what happened in the U.S. market will have little impact on our market,'' said Jerry Huang, manager of Fubon Securities Investment Trust Co.'s NT$5.5 billion ($175 million) Fubon Fund. ''Taiwan not only does not have such a concern, foreign investors may even switch to Asia markets such as Taiwan to avoid that.''

To: Steve Lewis who wrote (6762)	1/6/2000 9:38:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9582

UMC readies 0.13-micron process By Will Wade EE Times (01/05/00, 1:35 p.m. EDT) SUNNYVALE, Calif. — UMC Group expects to have a 0.13-micron manufacturing process ready for commercial production early next year, and is telling customers they can begin designs using the advanced line width this quarter. With UMC and foundry rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) engaged in a game of public one-upmanship in terms of both technology and capacity expansion plans, UMC claimed it would be in production with a 0.13-micron process well before TSMC. And TSMC at this point is not claiming otherwise. "For advanced designs, it is now time to engage at the 0.13-micron level," said James Kupec, head of worldwide marketing and sales for UMC. "We will be ready for commercial production early in 2001." The UMC process will support copper interconnect technology throughout the chip, and although Kupec said the company will also offer aluminum wiring as an alternative, he expects to see more and more chip companies embracing the faster metal. "At that node, copper really becomes cost competitive," he said. Looking further down the road, UMC will also begin developing this year a 0.10-micron process, which could be ready to roll out sometime in 2002. The company's aggressive technology road map places it some two quarters ahead of TSMC. A spokesman for TSMC, the world's largest foundry, said TSMC's current plans call for beta testing a 0.13-micron process in the first quarter of next year, with commercial readiness likely to follow three to six months later. There is no official schedule yet for a 0.10-micron process at TSMC. UMC is clearly setting its sights on TSMC's spot atop the foundry food chain. "Our revenue and our market share have really climbed in the past few years," said Kupec. "We expect to overtake TSMC soon, perhaps sometime this year." The company saw revenue of $1.75 billion last year, and is currently projecting sales of $2.5 billion this year. UMC claims it captured some 30 percent of the overall foundry market in 1999, compared with 35 percent for TSMC. The semiconductor industry is in an upswing this year, and the foundries are hoping to cash in on the surge. The main limiting factor will be manufacturing capacity. TSMC recently completed the acquisition of Acer Group's chip-making arm, Acer Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc., in order to increase capacity. Although UMC has no acquisition plans on the burner, the company will spend $2.1 billion this year and $2.9 billion in 2001 to equip two new 300-mm plants, one in Japan and one in Taiwan. "We are the only company in the world now with two 300-mm projects in the works," said Kupec. The Japan site should deliver its first production wafers next year, and the Taiwan facility will be about a year behind that schedule. "Everything right now is limited by capacity," he said. eet.com

To: Steve Lewis who wrote (6762)	1/7/2000 3:18:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 9582

Merger between UMC, Worldwide Semiconductor to be rejected Taipei, Jan. 6, 2000 (CENS)--The Securities & Futures Commission won't give its approval for a merger between United Microelectronics Corp. and Worldwide Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., if the two companies forward a tie-up application to the regulatory body, SFC chairman T.Y. Lin said Thursday. Media reports of a possible merger between the two microchip makers through a share swap have been circulating in the market for a while, pushing up the share prices of some listed companies that hold stakes in Worldwide Semiconductor which will be discarded after the merger. Lin said the SFC will investigate to see if there was any insider trading because news of a possible merger was leaked to the market ahead of any concrete finalization of the merger plan. Executives at UMC and Worldwide Semiconductor have both denied that they were behind recent media reports that a merger of the two companies was imminent. UMC officials said in a press conference Thursday that its board of directors had not discussed any merger plan with Worldwide Semiconductor and that it had never commented on any mergers before they are finalized. However, Lin alleged that the slew of reports might come from China Development Industrial Bank, one of the major shareholders of Worldwide Semiconductor. China Development said it is expected to generate a return of up to NT$15 billion if Worldwide Semiconductor is merged into UMC. Benny Hu, president of China Development, however, rebuked the charge, saying that he has never confirmed the media reports. The share prices of China Development and Mosel Vitelic Inc., another chipmaker that also holds a stake in Worldwide Semiconductor, have surged substantially in recent trading following the news reports of a possible link-up. Lin stressed that a tie-up between listed companies could only be made public after the boards of the companies involved gave their approval to the merger plans. "It is likely that insider trading is involved and under such circumstances the SFC is unlikely to approve the case," Lin said.