Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of handsets, memory chips and televisions, will invest $1.7 billion in its plant in east China's Jiangsu Province in the coming five years, according to local authorities on January 27.

The investment will be used to build workshops, purchase equipment and set up research institutes in Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co.'s branch in Kunshan, a major IT industry base in China, to support a chip carrier related project, according to the Kunshan Municipal Government.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. had invested about $81 million in its Kunshan Plant by the end of 2012 since its establishment in 2008. Engaged in developing and manufacturing electronic components, Kunshan Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd. saw an annual sales volume of $100 million in 2012.

Samsung's investment in Kunshan aims at meeting fast-growing demand for smart devices and will spur the development of the IT industry in the city.