U.S. contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries and United Microelectronics Corp., Taiwan's No. 2 chipmaker, are exploringthe possibility of a merger amid American efforts to mitigate riskssurrounding the Taiwan Strait and fend off growing competitionfrom China in mature chips, Nikkei Asia has learned.

In an assessment plan seen by Nikkei Asia, a tie-up of GlobalFoundries-UMC would create a bigger, U.S.-based companywith a production footprint across Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Theaim of the merger would be to create a company with the economicscale to ensure America has access to mature chips as tensionssimmer between China and Taiwan and as China produces morechips on its own, according to the plan.

UMC shares jumped 13% in morning trading, while GlobalFoundries fell 1%.