UMC Obtains LEED Gold Certification for Fab 12A P3 & P4

Achievement underscores UMC's continued efforts to enhance green sustainability

Hsinchu, Taiwan, July 30, 2012 - United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) ("UMC"), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced that its 300mm Fab 12A P3 & P4 in Tainan, Taiwan, has gained LEED-NC (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – New Construction) Gold recognition from the U.S. Green Building Council. This is another green building achievement for P3 & P4 following its EEWH Gold certification from Taiwan in 2011.

Dr. Shih-Wei Sun, CEO from UMC, said, "UMC was the first in the foundry industry to announce a corporate climate change policy back in 2010. Since then, we have initiated and implemented green measures not only to enhance energy-conservation for existing fabs, but also ensure that new fabs conform to the latest green building standards. Fab 12A P3 & P4's green building certification from both Taiwan and the U.S., demonstrates UMC's green commitment and is a significant milestone in our efforts to promote CSR and sustainability. We will further incorporate green initiatives for our upcoming P5 & P6 as well."

FAB 12A P3 & P4 is UMC's most advanced 300mm production fab. Green, low-carbon concepts have been introduced into all aspects of the facility, from fab design, construction, and process development to operation. Several structural measures to increase energy efficiency were adopted, including energy-saving vacuum pumps, an advanced solid cooling system that recycles vent gas, state-of-art energy management, monitoring and consolidation systems, etc. Reduction in energy consumption is estimated at 8.5% over Fab 12A P1 & P2, which is a further 29.3% below the standard set by ASHRAE. For water conservation, UMC implemented a sophisticated water recycle design and technique that will raise water recycling rate to 90%. For the Fab 12A complex, recycled water amount reached 6 million tons in 2011, equivalent to the water consumed by 65,000 people over the course of a year.

Environmental co-existence is UMC's core value within its CSR vision. UMC actively assists the Taiwanese government to establish green building and clean production evaluation systems while continuously promoting green concepts to the public. Going forward, UMC will continue to fulfill its responsibility as a corporate citizen, based on green building concepts to promote the formation of a low-carbon, sustainable society.

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that provides advanced technology and manufacturing for applications spanning every major sector of the IC industry. UMC's customer-driven foundry solutions allow chip designers to leverage the company's leading-edge processes, which include 28nm poly-SiON and gate-last High-K/Metal Gate technology, 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. Fab 12A consists of Phases 1-4 which are in production for customer products down to 28nm. Construction is underway for Phases 5&6, with future plans for Phases 7&8. The company employs over 13,000 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.