UMC Fab 12i Migrates to 45/40nm Manufacturing

Migration part of Singapore-based 300mm fab's broad expansion plans

Hsinchu, Taiwan, October 8, 2009 -- UMC (NYSE: UMC; TSE: 2303), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced that its Singapore-based Fab 12i has begun an aggressive expansion project to increase capacity and enable the 300mm fab for 45/40nm production. The expansion plan will help to better serve growing customer demand for leading edge capacity and expand the company's market share for advanced process technologies.

Po Wen Yen, senior vice president in charge of 300mm operations at UMC, said, "This capacity expansion and advanced technology migration project for Fab 12i has demonstrated our commitment to provide Customer-driven Foundry Solutions to support the needs of our customers. It will also create more local job opportunities for Singapore while attracting more talented engineers to UMC from all over the world. Furthermore, it will contribute greatly to Singapore semiconductor industry's development and create benefits for customers, the local community and UMC."

Construction for Fab 12i was completed in April 2002 as Singapore's first 300mm fab, with pilot production beginning in 2003. Fab 12i has a current capacity of 31,000 wafers per month and currently is in volume production for customer products down to 65/55nm.

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that provides advanced technology and manufacturing services for applications spanning every major sector of the IC industry. UMC's customer-driven foundry solutions allow chip designers to leverage the strength of the company's leading-edge processes, which include production proven 65nm, 45/40nm, mixed signal/RFCMOS, and a wide range of specialty technologies. Production is supported through 10 wafer manufacturing facilities that include two advanced 300mm fabs; Fab 12A in Taiwan and Singapore-based Fab 12i are both in volume production for a variety of customer products. The company employs approximately 12,000 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Europe, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com