Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. – October 31, 2011 - United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303), ("UMC") today announced that the company has received approval from the Investment Commission, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Executive Yuan to acquire a 35.7% stake of Best Elite International Limited ("Best Elite"), the holding company of He Jian Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. ("He Jian"). The acquisition includes the 15.3% stake in trustee, plus an additional 20.4% through cash acquisition. In the long run, UMC will continue to seek full integration with He Jian in compliance with current regulations and instruction from authorities.

After receiving government approval and completing the share transfer, Best Elite shares will become a UMC investment holding where UMC will recognize He Jian's operating results based on holding ratios. Meanwhile, the 15.3% of Best Elite shares which UMC was granted by Best Elite shareholders will be booked into UMC's financial statements after professional appraisers have decided the actual value considering the recent changes in book values. On the other hand, after UMC becomes the largest shareholder of Best Elite through acquiring 35.7% of share holdings, UMC will gradually integrate the operating resources from both sides to reach cooperative synergies for the mid-to-long term. In the long run, UMC and He Jian will be able to provide more flexible manufacturing solutions to help customers increase the competiveness of their products, thus benefiting everyone in this partnership.

UMC's application for foundry investment in Mainland China is part of the company's globalization strategies to expand overseas markets and boost sales growth. Going forward, UMC's core competence, including technology R&D and major capacity expansion, will still be based in Taiwan. UMC will continue to actively invest and recruit in Hsinchu and Tainan to facilitate our vision - Investing in Taiwan as a Base in Establishing a Global Presence. Meanwhile, the company will focus on increasing profitability and shareholders' return, dedicate itself to a world leading, customer driven foundry business model, and contribute efforts to enhance Taiwan's economy and competitiveness.

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 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; Fab12A in Taiwan and Singapore-based Fab12i are both in volume production for a variety of customer products. 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.

This release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by use of words such as "strategy," "expects," "continues," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "will," "estimates," "intends," "projects," "goals," "targets" and other words of similar meaning. You can also identify them by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.

These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual performance, financial condition or results of operations of UMC to be materially different from what is stated or may be implied in such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from those statements as a result of a number of factors including, but not limited to: (i) our dependence upon the frequent introduction of new services and technologies based on the latest developments in our industry; (ii) the intensely competitive semiconductor, communications, consumer electronics and computer industries and markets; (iii) the risks associated with international global business activities; (iv) our dependence upon key personnel; (v) general economic and political conditions; (vi) possible disruptions in commercial activities caused by natural and human-induced events and disasters, including terrorist activity, armed conflict and highly contagious diseases; (vii) reduced end-user purchases relative to expectations and orders; and (viii) fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in UMC's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its registration statements on Form F-1, F-3, F-6 and 20-F, in each case as amended. UMC does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.