United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) reportedly plans to buy back 500 thousands of own shares from March 5 to May 4, 2003, paying for them about $447 million. The company already repurchased its own stock 5 times in the past 2.5 years, after the Taiwanese government had legalized such deals.

Stock repurchase will allow UMC to attract attention of potential investors to UMC’s stock, as only a company who is confident about its future buys shares back. As a result, traders will start to buy UMC’s shares and their price will rise gradually, resulting UMC’s market capitalization to uptick. Current repurchase of stock will be the largest in the history of the country and the company.

Target price range for buyback is from NT$13.8 to NT$31. All the shares will then be provided to employees as bonuses. The number of options issued to an employee will be determined by a number of factors, including seniority, rank, and job performance.