Hsinchu, Taiwan, August 03, 2016 - Faraday Technology Corporation (TWSE: 3035), a leading ASIC design service and IP provider, and United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) ("UMC"), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced the availability of Faraday's 12.5Gbps programmable SerDes PHY IP on UMC's 28HPC^U process technology. The success of Faraday's 12.5G SerDes PHY development marks the first in a series of joint IP porting projects on UMC's 28nm High-K Metal Gate process nodes and beyond.

By adopting a programmable architecture that covers data transfer rate from 1.25G to 12.5G bit per second, this SerDes IP can readily support emerging 10G/1G xPON applications, which is the "last mile" broadband access through passive optical networks. In addition, the IP supports extensive interface standards ranging from SGMII, XAUI, QSGMII, USB 3.1, PCIe 3.0, NVM Express, to SATA 3 by combining respective Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS) circuits. The versatility of the 12.5G programmable SerDes PHY significantly shortens customer's SoC design cycle time on 28HPC^U.

"As the complexity of SoC integration increases along advanced process nodes, high-speed SerDes PHY technology has become the crucial building block to address a broad range of high-speed I/O interfaces in SoC applications," said Flash Lin, Chief Operation Officer at Faraday. "28nm High-K Metal Gate technology is widely recognized to be one of foundry industry's longest node, while UMC's 28 HPC^U demonstrates superior performance over industry benchmarks. We are happy to expand on our comprehensive portfolio of 28HPC^U high speed I/O IP solutions with this 12.5G SerDes, and will extend high quality service to ensure streamlined adoption of this IP solution."

"Faraday currently supplies one of the largest silicon verified IP portfolios across UMC's processes," said S.C. Chien, senior vice president of IP Development and Design Support division at UMC. "Their programmable SerDes PHY is a welcome addition to our 28HPC^U platform IP resources to help customers broaden their opportunities in emerging high-growth applications. We are looking forward to expanding our collaboration with Faraday for other IP and process technologies in the future."

Faraday Technology Corporation (TWSE: 3035) is a leading ASIC design service and IP provider. The broad silicon IP portfolio includes I/O, Cell Library, Memory Compiler, ARM-compliant CPUs, DDR2/3/4, low-power DDR1/2/3, MIPI, V-by-One, MPEG4, H.264, USB 2.0/3.1 Gen 1, 10/100/1000 Ethernet, Serial ATA, PCI Express, and programmable SerDes, etc. Headquartered in Taiwan, Faraday has service and support offices around the world, including the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Mainland China.

For more information about Faraday, please visit: www.faraday-tech.com

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that provides advanced IC production for applications spanning every major sector of the electronics industry. UMC’s robust foundry solutions enable chip designers to leverage the company’s sophisticated technology and manufacturing, which include volume production 28nm gate-last High-K/Metal Gate technology, ultra-low power platform processes specifically engineered for Internet of Things (IoT) applications and the automotive industry’s highest-rated AEC-Q100 Grade-0 manufacturing capabilities for production of ICs found in cars. UMC’s 10 wafer fabs are strategically located throughout Asia and are able to produce over 500,000 wafers per month. The company employs more than 17,000 people worldwide, with offices in Taiwan, mainland China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com.

Note From UMC Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in the foregoing announcement are forward-looking within the meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws, including statements about introduction of new services and technologies, future outsourcing, competition, wafer capacity, business relationships and market conditions. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety of factors, including conditions in the overall semiconductor market and economy; acceptance and demand for products from UMC; and technological and development risks. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in UMC’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 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.