Investing.com -- Shares of United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC), a leading semiconductor foundry based in Taiwan, saw a significant surge, jumping 14% in early trading Monday. This notable increase came on the heels of a report by Nikkei Asia indicating that UMC is currently in discussions with U.S. contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries Inc (NASDAQ:GFS) about a potential merger.

The merger talks are taking place in the context of U.S. efforts to reduce vulnerabilities associated with the strategic Taiwan Strait and to counteract the increasing production of mature chips by China. An assessment plan reviewed by Nikkei Asia suggests that the merger between GlobalFoundries and UMC would establish a larger U.S.-based entity with manufacturing capabilities spanning Asia, the U.S., and Europe.

The primary goal of this proposed merger is to form a company with sufficient economic scale to guarantee that the United States maintains access to mature chips. This is particularly relevant given the ongoing tensions between China and Taiwan, along with China's push to expand its own chip manufacturing capabilities.

While UMC's shares experienced a significant rise following the news, GlobalFoundries' shares saw a slight decrease, falling 1% after the report was released.

As of now, neither United Microelectronics Corporation nor GlobalFoundries have provided comments regarding the merger speculation.

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