10 Firms Kick Off Trading Week Stronger

3. United Microelectronics Corp. (NYSE:UMC)

United Microelectronics jumped by 9.16 percent on Monday to end at $7.15 apiece as investors cheered news that it is potentially merging with GlobalFoundries Inc.

According to a report by Nikkei, citing news privy to the matter, the merger would see the establishment of a new US company with production capabilities in the US, Asia, and Europe and potentially become an alternative to Taiwan Semiconductor.

Additionally, the new company would aim to secure American access amid potential risks from China competition and tensions between the mainland and Taiwan.

Nikkei said that UMC had previously set sights on either buying or building production plants in the US, but later axed the plan due to costs.

UMC is a Taiwan-based company and the country’s first semiconductor firm, as the result of a spin-off of the government’s Industrial Technology Research Institute.