UMC seeks 15% stake in Chinese chipmaker

The chairman of Taiwan chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp said his company is seeking approval from the Taiwan government to allow UMC to take a 15% US$110m stake in mainland-based He Jian Technology (Suzhou) Co, in exchange for helping to set up the Chinese company. The deal is aimed at formalizing the relationship between the two companies, after Taiwan officials began investigating whether UMC had compromised shareholder interests when it transferred funds and technology to He Jian, a chipmaker founded by UMC employees.