Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), the world's No. 3 contract chip maker, will form a chip production joint venture with Fujitsu Semiconductor Ltd. UMC will invest 50 billion Japanese yen (US$480 million) to acquire a roughly 9 percent stake in the new joint venture. The Taiwanese company also agreed to license its 40-nanometer low power technology to Fujitsu and will receive licensing fees equivalent to the amount of its investment.

Under the joint venture, a 12-inch wafer plant in Mie Prefecture in Japan will manufacture 28,000 wafers per month for use in image sensors and automobile electronics, according to UMC.