TAIPEI, TAIWAN - May 03, 2001. WIN Semiconductors Corp. (WIN), the world's first 6-inch GaAs foundry company, has signed a syndicated term loan today in the amount of NT$1.2 billion. The signing ceremony was held at the headquarter of the Chinatrust Commercial Bank (Chinatrust) in Taipei and was hosted by Mr. Frank P.Y. Lin, Senior Deputy President of Chinatrust, and Mr. Ocean Hsieh, Chairman of WIN.

This funding will be used for equipment acquisition and facility expansion in WIN's Fab #1 GaAs MMIC foundry. This project is being undertaken in support of the company's stated goals of achieving a production capacity of 50,000 wafers per year (WPY) by year end 2003 and 100,000 WPY by year end 2005

The syndicate is lead by Chinatrust and includes International Bank of Taipei, Hwatai Bank, Makoto Bank and Hsinchu International Bank. The funding is sponsored also by the Taiwan Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) under mid & long term financing programs, so the interest spread for this syndication is less than 5.9%, the capital cost will be relatively low.

WIN's chairman, Mr. Hsieh noted that, since WIN's inception in 1999, the company has consistently exceeded its goals for productivity and quality. "With the continued support of Taiwan's business community and the government, WIN will be a major contributor to Taiwan's growing reputation within the Wireless and Telecommunication Markets." Hsieh added.

Dr. C.S. Wu, President and CEO of WIN, emphasized that GaAs industry has emerged as a new rising start in Taiwan. As a result of its growth potential, the company has attracted many investors over the past 2 years. This has created a stable financial environment in which the company could focus its energies on technology advancements, quality, and management systems development.

WIN Semiconductors Corp. was established in October 1999, and broke ground for its corporate offices and wafer fabrication facility in November of the same year. Construction was essentially completed in July 2000. Processing equipment was installed, and later, operating, in September 2000. Industry response has been very positive. Starting as early at test runs in September, the company has been contacted by, and met with, many communication IDM companies and microwave design houses. Production will start during the 1st quarter of 2001, with output rising to 30,000 wafers per year by the end of 2002. In full production, WIN will produce 100,000 wafers per year. At that point, it will be the largest, and most technically advanced, GaAs MMIC Fab in Taiwan. Revenues are expected to exceed $0.5 Billion (US) per year.