Hitachi-UMC 300mm Joint Venture Company Established as Trecenti Technologies

Tokyo and Taipei, March 21, 2000 -- Hitachi, Ltd. (Hitachi) (NYSE: HIT) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) today announced the official establishment of their joint wafer fab company. The name "Trecenti Technologies, Inc." (Trecenti Technologies) has been chosen for the new company, and it will operate from the N3 building of Hitachi's LSI Manufacturing Operation in Hitachinaka-city, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan. Trecenti Technologies will manufacture 300mm wafers utilizing leading-edge process technologies of 0.18-micron and beyond.

"We are excited about the start of the new joint venture. Our team is extremely confident of its ability to quickly bring the 300mm wafer facility to volume production, due to the combined expertise of UMC and Hitachi," said Toshio Nohara, President of Trecenti Technologies.  "The company name "Trecenti" comes from the Latin word "trecenti," which means "three hundred" (300). This clearly reflects our commitment to become a pioneer of 300mm wafer manufacturing technology. Trecenti Technologies will respond to the growing needs of our customers with quick turn-around-times and cost-effective manufacturing."  

H. J. Wu, General Manager of UMC and Board Director of Trecenti Technologies, said "Our plan is to offer the advantages of 300mm technology to our customers in the shortest timeframe possible. Clearly, Trecenti will benefit from the synergies created by the alliance of Hitachi and UMC, and we expect to set the standard for 300mm wafer manufacturing performance in the global semiconductor industry."  

Outline of Trecenti Technologies, Inc.

Head Office	:	751 Horiguchi, Hitachinaka-city, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan
		(Currently, N3 building of Hitachi's LSI Manufacturing Operation)
Establishment	:	March 15, 2000
Capital	:	2,500 million yen
		(30,000 million yen, by end of December, 2000)
Equity Position	:	Hitachi 60%, UMC 40%
Representative Director and President	:	Toshio Nohara  (Semiconductor & IC group, Hitachi)
Directors	:	Mutsumi Suzuki  (Corporate Auditor's Office, Hitachi)
		Osamu Minato  (Hitachi Nippon Steel Semiconductor Singapore)
		Atsuyoshi Koike  (Semiconductor & IC group, Hitachi)
		H. J. Wu  (General Manager, UMC)
		Jenn Tsao  (Project Director, UMC)
		Mitsuo Takahashi  (Vice President, Nippon Foundry)
Auditors	:	Katsuhiko Katayama
		(Hitachi Nippon Steel Semiconductor Singapore)
		Kenji Mukaiyama  (Semiconductor & IC group, Hitachi, part-time)
		P. K. Hung  (Director, Nippon Foundry, part-time)
Employees	:	Approx. 450 at full production in the 2nd half of 2001
Business	:	Manufacture and sales of semiconductors
Schedule	:	Pilot production starts in January 2001
		Mass production starts in April 2001
Capacity	:	7,000 wafers per month by 300mm in the 2nd half of 2001
Initial Investment	:	Approx. 70 billion yen for 7,000-wafer capacity

 

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1998 (ended March 31, 1999) consolidated sales of 7,977 billion yen ($65.9 billion*). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp .

*At an exchange rate of 121 yen to the dollar

Editorial Contacts:

Yukiaki Ina Hitachi, Ltd. 81-(0)3-3258-2055 yina@cm.head.hitachi.co.jp	Alex Hinnawi UMC (886) 2-2700-6999 ext. 6958 alex_hinnawi@umc.com(regional PR contact)