Tokyo and Taipei-- 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)
		P. K. Hung  (Director, Nippon Foundry)
Employees:	Approx. 450 at full production in the 2nd half of 2001
Business:	Manufacture and sale of semiconductors
Schedule:	Pilot production starts in January 2001
		Mass production starts in April 2001
Capacity:	7,000 300mm wafers per month 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


About United Microelectronics Corporation
UMC, a world leading semiconductor foundry, operates fabs in Taiwan and Japan and 
has two 12-inch fabs under construction, including a joint venture company with 
Hitachi, Ltd. of Japan. UMC is a leader in foundry technology and expects capacity to 
reach 2.4 million wafers per year in 2000 with over half in advanced 0.18 and 0.25-
micron technology. UMC will introduce WorldlogicTM standard 0.13-micron process 
technology in year 2000. Global sales were $1.75 billion in 1999. UMC has marketing 
and customer support offices located in the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands. 
UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com