(Yicai Global) Sept. 14 -- Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. [TPE:2354] reached an agreement with the Nanjing municipal government yesterday and plans to put USD5.77 billion (CNY37.5 billion) into a smartphone factory and other projects in the city, Nikkei reported.

The Nanjing government and Hon Hai, which trades as Foxconn Technology Group, made a deal for the establishment of a smartphone factory, a liquid-crystal display television factory, a research and production center and a semiconductor manufacturing equipment and logistics center. The government may provide support in the form of capital, land or infrastructure construction.

Hon Hai used to have a small-scale smartphone factory in Nanjing. It once mass-produced iPhones in Zhengzhou city in Henan province. The new factory may be aimed at expanding production systems and accessing orders from growing Chinese mobile phone manufacturers.

Hon Hai decided in February to build a panel plant with USD9.056 billion (JPY1 trillion) in Guangzhou. It also intends to invest USD10 billion to set up an LCD panel factory in Wisconsin in the United States.