For Immediate Release
Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas Utilizes UMC's Silicon Shuttle® Program for Microcontroller and System-on-Chip Designs

Sharp's North American Design Center Leverages UMC's Advanced Technology Prototyping Program to Create New Class of 16- and 32-bit MCUs/SOCs

CAMAS, Wash., and SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 9, 2001 - Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas (SMA), a U.S.-based division of Sharp Corporation, Osaka, Japan, and United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC), a world leading semiconductor foundry, today said Sharp's North American Design Center will utilize UMC's Silicon Shuttle program to create, in silicon, microcontrollers (MCUs) and Systems-on-Chips (SOCs). SMA is manufacturing a new class of 16- and 32-bit MCUs / SOCs, that will be used in next-generation PDAs, Internet appliances, smart phones and home automation based on UMC's 0.18 micron process. UMC was selected over other foundries due to its leadership in the foundry industry for 0.18-micron production and because its innovative Silicon Shuttle program enables users to run design prototypes in silicon with minimal overhead and risk.

"We selected UMC as the foundry to begin SMA's manufacturing because it is one of the top fabricators in the world. Also, through its Silicon Shuttle program, we can cost-effectively and rapidly prototype new product designs and do silicon respins quickly and efficiently when required. By implementing this approach, we can ensure our silicon works as designed in end applications, and thus turn to volume production as quickly as possible while still concentrating on cost and time-to-market issues," said Terry Thomas, SMA's director of marketing for microcontroller and System-on-Chip.

"As companies are facing increasingly tight competition, the need to reduce manufacturing risks and costs is paramount," said Jim Ballingall, vice president of worldwide marketing at UMC. "To that end, we are devising programs such as our Silicon Shuttle so that customers can benefit from using our advanced deep-submicron process technologies while assuming minimal risk. We are pleased to be working with SMA and helping them bring their leading designs to market quickly and efficiently."

SMA has recently been designated Sharp's North American design center for all new 8, 16 and 32-bit MCU / SOC products. In addition to designing MCU / SOCs specifically to meet the needs of design engineers in the Americas, SMA also has the autonomy to choose the manufacturing foundries it requires for production-level quantities.

The decision to operate a design center in North America is a notable departure for Sharp, which previously designed all products in Japan. The Camas, Wash.-based team of engineers is responsible for the design of new 8-, 16-, and 32-bit MCU / SOC products based on market- and customer-driven requirements. SMA's marketing team will have responsibility for developing the future product roadmaps and marketing the product line worldwide.

Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas (SMA), Camas, Washington, is a U.S.-based company and a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation which is a subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, Osaka, Japan. Sharp is a worldwide developer of core digital technologies that are playing an integral role in shaping the next generation of electronic products for consumer and business needs. SMA offers breakthrough memory, LCD, opto, CCD, RF/IR, microcomputer and system-on-chip components, along with packaging and integration skills that help design engineers throughout North and South America bring their ambitious ideas to market. SMA is dedicated to improving people's lives through the use of advanced technology and a commitment to innovation, quality, value and design.

UMC's Silicon Shuttle program offers customers the opportunity to verify their advanced designs and prototypes in UMC silicon, helping to minimize risks and costs. The new 2001 program provides greater frequency and a richer offering of technologies, including several Silicon Shuttle wafers dedicated to mixed mode and RF CMOS as well as UMC's 0.13-micron technology. As before, the mask cost is split among multiple customers by allowing each customer to purchase "seats" on the same mask, reducing individual customer costs to a fraction of the total.

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.

Silicon Shuttle is a registered service mark of UMC. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective companies.