UMC to Build Wafer Fabs in Chinese Mainland, USUnited Microelectronics Corp said it will build wafer fabs in the Chinese mainland and the United States.While UMC is planning to sell some of its equipment for making 8-inch wafers outside, including the Chinese mainland, it does not rule out joining forces with the home governments of its investment destinations in building wafer fabs, UMC chairman Robert Tsao said in a Commercial Times report. UMC's recent announcement on cutting its 8-inch-wafer capacity in Taiwan by one-third is meant primarily to illustrate its resolve to ensure Taiwan's leading status in the 12-inch-wafer era, he said. However, given the longer-than-expected lifespan of 8-inch-wafer fabs, UMC does not rule out building or acquiring such outfits in North America and the Chinese mainland, he added. Tsao said in his recent business tour of the US, quite a few clients of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd. indicated their intentions to enter into "aggressive cooperation" with UMC. Separately, Tsao said the semiconductor industry is expected to see some sequential capacity utilization improvement in the fourth quarter after a bottoming-out in the third, but the visibility for next year remains low.
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