Foxconn, a Taiwan-funded company, has announced its plan to invest US$ 1 billion over the next three years to produce electronics in Qinhuangdao, a coastal city on the Chinese mainland.

Terry Gou, president of Hon Hai Precision, a shareholder in Foxconn Group, said the money would be spent on building an industrial park in the Beidaihe district of Qinhuangdao, in north China's Hebei Province.

The park, covering an area of 317 hectares, will be home to a cluster of factories that manufacture electronics, including printed circuit boards and signal transmitters, and nano-technology research and development centers.

The establishment of the park will create 35,000 job opportunities, Gou said, adding that the Qinhuangdao industrial park was the 16th industrial base that the Hon Hai group had set up on the mainland since 1998.

In February this year, Foxconn kicked off a 99 million-dollar project in Langfang City, also in Hebei Province, as part of the Taiwan company's strategy to move its production base from eastern coastal areas to the north and northeastern inland regions.

Gou said the fast-growing economy on the mainland had created business opportunities in many industrial fields for Taiwan companies.

He said the expansion of its mainland operations had been the spur for Foxconn's growth, doubling the company's revenue last year.

The Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd, is the largest private enterprise in Taiwan and is among the world's leading manufacturer of connectors and cable assemblies.

Terry Gou is ranked 142nd on the 2007 Forbes list of the world's richest people, with a fortune of US$ 5.5 billion.

(Xinhua News Agency July 24 2007)