WALTHAM, Mass, November 21, 2000 - UMC (NYSE: UMC), a world leading semiconductor foundry, today announced the official opening of its East Coast operations in the Boston area. Dr. Arthur Kuo, vice president of sales and East Coast region supervisor (for UMC USA), will oversee the new establishment which is positioned to offer enhanced support for UMC's existing customers in the Eastern United States and grow the company's client base throughout this area and in Canada. The office, located in Waltham, MA, is UMC's second marketing and customer support operation in the US in addition to the Sunnyvale, CA location.

Jim Kupec, president of worldwide marketing and sales for UMC USA, said, "The Boston area offers a strategic geographic location for us to increase our customer service support for the Eastern United States. Not only is the region well-established in our major target industries, including consumer electronics and communications, but it is also the ideal location to facilitate the building of new relationships in the Eastern United States and Canada. This presence will provide increased opportunities for better interactions with new and existing customers coast-to-coast."

UMC is leasing the 2,000-square-foot building, located at 1601 Trapelo Rd., 2nd Fl, Bldg. C, Waltham, MA 02451. The office can be reached via telephone at (781) 290-2390. At this time, the facility is serving as a sales office and supports five employees; plans are in place to expand to 10 employees by the middle of next year. Future plans include the addition of field applications engineers and program managers to this site.

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.