UMC Adds ARM922T[tm] To GOLD IP[tm] Program

SUNNYVALE, Calif., November 8, 2000--UMC (NYSE: UMC) today announced the addition of the ARM [(LSE:ARM); (Nasdaq:ARMHY)] ARM922T[tm] core to the comprehensive portfolio of intellectual property (IP) cores within its Gold IP[tm] program. The ARM922T core will first become available on UMC's 0.18-micron process, and subsequent iterations will involve UMC's other process technologies.  Design kits for the ARM922T core are currently available, and silicon verification is projected for Q4 of 2000.

Jim Ballingall, vice president of worldwide marketing at UMC said, "ARM has continued to demonstrate that it delivers the leading-edge processor cores our customers are seeking.  Accordingly, we are excited to offer the newest member of the ARM9[tm] Thumb® family of cores in addition to the ARM7TDMI® microprocessor core that is currently available through our IP program.  I am confident that we will see the same success with the ARM922T core that we have with our ARM7TDMI core offering. "

Reynette Au, vice president of Corporate Marketing from ARM said, "Because so many of our current partners process their designs in UMC's fabs, we are extremely pleased that this foundry has licensed our newest core.  Furthermore, as UMC has such a large customer base of its own, this agreement will further expand the accessibility of the ARM922T core to a wider customer base."

The ARM922T core offers designers a high-performance architecture for price and power sensitive portable applications running MP3 audio, Java, Voice recognition and MPEG-4 video. The ARM922T solution is a 32-bit microprocessor macrocell that combines the ARM9TDMI[tm] CPU core with 8k instruction and 8k data caches, instruction and data Memory Management Units (MMUs), a write buffer, an AMBA[tm] bus interface and an Embedded Trace Macrocell[tm] (ETM) interface. The core targets applications that require an optimal mix of performance and power and provides an ideal solution for applications running industry-proven operating systems such as EPOC, Linux and WindowsCE.

About UMC

UMC, a world leading semiconductor foundry, operates seven wafer fabs in Taiwan's Hsinchu Science Park. UMC's Japanese subsidiary, Nippon Foundry Inc., has one fab in Japan and UMC's joint venture with Hitachi, Trecenti Technologies, is readying to ramp production in its 300mm fab in Japan. UMC has also started construction on a 300mm facility in Taiwan's Tainan Science Park, with pilot production scheduled to start by third quarter 2001. UMC is a leader in foundry technology, with facilities ramping to reach an annual output of 2.4 million eight-inch equivalent wafers per year in 2000. UMC's joint development program with IBM and Infineon Technologies is progressing with its schedule to introduce the WorldLogic standard 0.13-micron technology this year. UMC serves customers around the world through sales and marketing offices located in the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com .

About Gold IP[tm]

UMC's Gold IP[tm] program provides a broad range of IP cores and standard cell libraries to UMC's customers through alliances with IP platform, design service, and EDA companies.  The program leads the foundry industry in the hardening of analog and timing-critical or datapath-driven cores through its Silicon Shuttle multi-chip test-wafer program.  Results are coded in the Gold IP catalog according to the core's maturity in UMC silicon (Bronze =  Softcore or GDS2, Silver = Hardcore available and silicon verified, and Gold = Production).  UMC utilizes the VSIA IP tagging standard in order to track and identify core usage.

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.

GoldIP is a trademark of UMC.  Silicon Shuttle is a registered service mark of UMC.
ARM, ARM7TDMI and Thumb are registered trademarks of ARM Limited. ARM7, ARM9, ARM922T and AMBA are trademarks of ARM Limited.  All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. "ARM" is used to represent ARM Holdings plc (LSE: ARM and NASDAQ: ARMHY); its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM, INC.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd.

Editorial Contacts:

In the USA:
KJ Communications (for UMC)
Eileen Elam
(650)917-1488
KJcomE@cs.com

UMC
Alex Hinnawi
Director, Corp. Communications
(886)2-2700-6999 ext.6958
Alex_Hinnawi@umc.com