HSINCHU, Taiwan, June 1, 2005 - UMC (NYSE: UMC TSE: 2303), a world leading semiconductor foundry, reached a major milestone with the celebration of its 25th anniversary this month. Since its establishment as Taiwan's first semiconductor company in 1980, UMC has grown to become a major global IC foundry service provider at the forefront of system-on-chip (SoC) production technology. The company's ability to thrive for a quarter of a century in one of the world's most competitive and challenging industries was highlighted in 2004 with record high revenues of US $3.7 Billion.
Robert Tsao, Chairman of UMC, said, "Over the last 25 years, UMC has established itself as a world leader in the semiconductor foundry industry. With our superior technical staff, state-of-the-art production facilities, and outstanding foundry service infrastructure, the company's potential can stretch as far as the vision of our employees. This is indeed a positive time for the company. In the coming years, I believe that UMC's employees and shareholders will continue to benefit from the years of effort that have led to this important anniversary."
UMC was initially founded as a small-scale IDM chip manufacturing company in 1980, that licensed technology from RCA to enable the delivery of its first product: an electronic watch IC. The company began its transformation into a pure play foundry in 1995 by establishing three separate joint-venture foundry companies. UMC acquired a fourth local foundry company in 1998, and in 2000 the group completed Taiwan's largest ever merger with the consolidation of the five joint-venture companies into a single foundry, UMC. Today, UMC is delivering world-leading technology such as 90nm and 65nm silicon and has customer products that cover all 3C (Computer, Consumer, and Communications) applications.
UMC has distinguished itself over its 25-year history with innovative and strategic business practices. It was the first company in Taiwan to introduce a stock bonus plan for its employees, a measure now widely adopted in every sector of Taiwan's technology industry. UMC was also the first semiconductor company to list on the Taiwan stock exchange, and in 2000, the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. UMC was also the first foreign company to acquire a Japanese semiconductor company in 1997; UMCJ now operates as the only pure play foundry in Japan.
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