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Chairman of UMC says he has nothing to hide from probe

The chairman of the world's second-largest contract chipmaker said yesterday that the investigation into alleged illegal investments by his company in rival China would soon be over.

United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) chief Robert Tsao (曹興誠) told reporters that he had nothing to hide, and that he would soon explain UMC's relations with China's He Jian Technology (Suzhou) Co (和艦科技) to investigators.

Taipei strictly controls chipmakers' investments in China, with companies required to apply for permission before going ahead with such deals.

In February, prosecutors raided UMC's headquarters to investigate whether the company had formed an illegal relationship with He Jian by providing funds and technology without compensation.

Speaking at an athletics meeting marking UMC's 25th anniversary, Tsao said he was willing to explain the relationship between both companies to investigators.

Prosecutors had wanted to meet Tsao earlier this week, but he asked for leave because he wanted to meet with business partners from the US, said investigation spokesman Tsai Tien-yuan (蔡添源). He said they would now try to arrange an interview with Tsao next month.

He Jian was founded by former UMC employees in November 2001, several months before the government relaxed a ban on semiconductor investments in China.

UMC repeatedly denied any formal relationship with He Jian, saying only that it sometimes referred customers to the Chinese company.

"We never hid anything, this is just a relationship with a friendly company, a very simple relationship," Tsao said.

He emphasized UMC hadn't broken any laws, and said he thought the investigation could soon be concluded.

"We are such a large listed company, we have closely researched legal matters, so we certainly wouldn't break those laws," Tsao said.
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