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To: Woody_Nickels who wrote (4506)	1/16/1999 7:01:00 PM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 9582

UMC: Foundries to rebound in '99 Sandy Chen Taipei, Taiwan- After a tough time in the IC-wafer foundry business last year, Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) is looking for better days in 1999. Following a period of overcapacity and price pressures in the overall foundry business, Hsinchu-based UMC is estimating that its 1998 sales will total $570 million, compared with $778.8 million in 1997. Net income for 1998 will amount to roughly $180.7 million, vs. $302 million the previous year, the company said. 1999, however, could be a different story for UMC and other foundries. Looking for a rebound in the foundry industry by year's end, as well as a possible surge of orders due to the Year 2000 problem, UMC projects that its total sales for 1999 will range from $778 million to $872 million. In total, the UMC Group will report sales of approximately $1.87 billion in 1999, said John Hsuan, chief executive for domestic operations. The UMC Group comprises the IC-wafer-foundry business; Unipac Optoelectronics Corp., which makes flat-panel displays; and Worldwise Co. Ltd., a supplier of printed-circuit boards. In an interview, Hsuan said the stabilization of the DRAM business could have a positive effect on the foundry industry. "DRAM pricing always affects foundry pricing," he said. "DRAM pricing seems stable now, so I think there won't be a price war in the foundry business in the first quarter of 1999." techweb.com