NEWPORT BEACH and SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 12, 2000 - UMC, a world-leading semiconductor foundry, and Conexant Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNXT), today announced a long-term strategic agreement that provides Conexant with guaranteed foundry capacity. Conexant, a leading provider of semiconductor products and systems solutions for communications electronics, will receive significant foundry capacity and access to UMC's advanced process technology to support future growth. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. UMC was also selected to receive Conexant's "Golden Wafer" award for outstanding product manufacturing, quality, flexibility and customer support. The two companies have been working together for five years.

"This partnership realizes opportunities for both companies to grow in their respective markets. UMC continues to partner with world-class organizations such as Conexant to couple their core competence in design innovation with UMC's world-class manufacturing and services," noted Jim Kupec, senior vice president of worldwide marketing and sales. "We appreciate Conexant's confidence in UMC's foundry services. UMC always strives to meet the needs of our valued customers. Our technology leadership and ability to expand our capacity to meet the increasing demand for state-of-the-art foundry services enables leading IC providers such as Conexant to deliver products to their OEMs in time to meet the incredible time-to-market requirements currently facing the communications industry."

"Strong foundry relationships are a core component of Conexant's manufacturing strategy for meeting customer volume commitments," said Terry Ellis, Conexant's senior vice president of operations. "Given the explosive demand in the markets we address, we must augment our internal manufacturing with guaranteed, world-class foundry capacity that features leading-edge processes. Our foundry partners must meet exacting standards in terms of manufacturing capacity, reliability and customer service. UMC excels across the board, and we are pleased to expand our partnership with them.

With a revenue run-rate of approximately $2 billion per year, Conexant is the world's largest independent company focused exclusively on providing semiconductor solutions for communications electronics. With more than 30 years of experience in developing communications technology, the company draws upon its expertise in mixed-signal processing to deliver integrated systems and semiconductor products for a broad range of communications applications. These products facilitate communications worldwide through wireline voice and data communications networks, cordless and cellular wireless telephony systems, personal imaging devices and equipment, and emerging cable and wireless broadband communications networks. The company aligns its business into five product platforms: Network Access, Wireless Communications, Digital Infotainment, Personal Imaging, and Personal Computing. Conexant is a member of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 Indices. For more information, visit Conexant at size=-1>http://www.conexant.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 future outsourcing, wafer capacity, technologies, 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.