UMC says it has no plans to build plants in the U.S.

Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) said on Wednesday that it has no immediate plans to set up a production site in the United States amid speculation that the Taiwanese company may come under pressure to invest in the U.S. market.

The comments came after Mirror Media, a Taiwanese language news weekly, reported earlier Wednesday that with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump set to return to the White House in January, there might be more pressure on UMC, Taiwan's second largest contract chipmaker, to invest in the U.S.

The report cited unnamed industrial sources who said the pressure could arise because the U.S. is the largest semiconductor market in the world and also due to Trump's tariff threats.

The report also cited an American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Facebook post on Nov. 21 that confirmed AIT Director Raymond Greene had visited UMC.

However, UMC said Greene was making a scheduled visit to the company and did not expand on any details.

UMC reiterated that it has no plans to invest in the U.S. at the moment. It said it was focusing its resources on its ongoing project with U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp.

In January, UMC and Intel announced they would develop a 12-nanometer semiconductor process platform. Production at Intel's Ocotillo Technology Fabrication site in Arizona is set to begin in 2027.

The AIT, the de facto embassy of the U.S. in Taiwan, said in its Facebook post that Greene met with UMC's top leadership to discuss the company's future growth strategies and to exchange views on key industry topics.

The AIT described the Taiwanese chipmaker as "a global leader in mature-node foundry services, which are essential for manufacturing the chips that power our mobile devices, connected cars, industrial equipment, and loT."

The institute said it recognizes Taiwan's crucial role in the global semiconductor supply chain and will carry on working to ensure that global supply chains stay secure and resilient.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, is investing US$65 billion in Arizona. TSMC, which dominates the global high-end chip market, is building two advanced wafer fabs and planning another.

According to the Taipei-based market information advisory firm TrendForce, UMC was the fourth largest company in the global pure-play wafer foundry market in the third quarter of this year.