General Semiconductor and Yageo Corporation Announce North American Marketing Agreement

Business Wire, March 8, 2000

Business Editors/Technology Writers

MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2000

General Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE:SEM), a leading manufacturer of discrete semiconductors, and Yageo Corporation (TSEC:2327) a leading Taiwan-based manufacturer of passive supplies, today announced that they have signed an agreement naming General Semiconductor as the primary sales channel for Yageo branded products in North America.

Under the terms of the agreement, Yageo's broad line of chip resistors, capacitors, inductors and other passives will be marketed in North America by General Semiconductor's sales network. Yageo currently has a strong market share position in Asia Pacific and Europe, but its products are not currently marketed in North America. This new agreement now gives the General Semiconductor North American customer base greater access to Yageo's product offering. General Semiconductor has a strong sales presence in North America, with approximately 28% of the corporation's 1999 revenues of $417.4 million derived in this market.

Yageo's products will also be integrated with GSRepNet(TM), further broadening its exposure in North America. GSRepNet(TM) is a custom Extranet developed by General Semiconductor to serve its sales force and its customers by providing immediate access to market and order information.

"We are pleased and excited to be partnering with Yageo on this endeavor," stated Ronald A. Ostertag, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Semiconductor. "We look forward to further development of our a relationship with Yageo, a company which is recognized globally for its high quality products. With the addition of Yageo's products to our North America offering, General Semiconductor can now participate in the rapidly growing market for passives. We look forward to a long and profitable partnership with them."

"This partnership with General Semiconductor gives Yageo a unique opportunity to rapidly grow our business in North America," said Yageo's President and Chief Executive Officer, Pierre Chen. "General Semiconductor is a leader in the discrete semiconductor market. Their well established sales channels and their GSRepNet(TM) combine perfectly with our worldwide growth strategy. We are implementing very aggressive capacity expansions, and this partnership with General Semiconductor allows us to leverage this capacity across a broad market."

"Yageo is our first partner in a new program we have developed to utilize the General Semiconductor sales infrastructure and GSRepNet(TM)," added Vincent Guercio, Senior Vice President e-Business for General Semiconductor. "Not only does Yageo have an excellent passive product line that will provide immediate access to North American accounts, they also have plans in place to support the growth of the telecommunications, consumer and automotive markets."

About Yageo

Yageo Corporation is the number one Taiwan resistor maker that produces both thick-film and thin-film resistors. Since 1993, Yageo has had an average annual growth of rate of 40%, giving it 65 % of Taiwan's thick-film resistor market.

About General Semiconductor

General Semiconductor, Inc. is a market leader in the discrete segment of the semiconductor industry with manufacturing facilities in China, France, Germany, Ireland, Taiwan and the United States. The Company provides customers with a broad array of power rectifiers, transient voltage suppressors and small signal transistors and diodes. It has a diversified customer base, in terms of geography and end-use markets. Customers include leading global manufacturers of consumer electronics, lighting, telecommunications equipment, computers, automotive and automotive aftermarket products.

The information set forth above includes "forward-looking" information and, accordingly, the cautionary statements contained in Exhibit 99 to the Company's Form 10-K/A and Form 10-Q filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are incorporated herein by reference. General Semiconductor's actual results could differ materially from the "forward-looking" information in this press release.

Visit General Semiconductor on the web at www.gensemi.com

Visit Yageo on the web at www.yageo.com.tw