SHANGHAI/TAIPEI: German supplier of chemicals and materials used in making semiconductors, KGaA , said on Tuesday it had signed a contract to open a semiconductor base in the Chinese city of Zhangjiagang, describing it as its largest single electronics business investment in the country.

The company, in a statement published to its official WeChat account, said the deal was signed with local authorities.

The new 69-acre base will house mass production plants for semiconductor materials, including thin films and specialty gasses, warehouses, and operations centers.

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“We firmly believe that China’s semiconductor industry and the entire electronic information industry are in a period of golden development opportunities,” said President of Merck China Allan Gabor, according to the statement.

Merck said earlier this year it will invest at least another one billion yuan ($150.18 million) in China by 2025 to support the chip industry. Of that mount, 550 million yuan ($82.60 million) will go towards the new Zhangjiagang base, Merck told Reuters.

Zhangjiagang is a county-level city under the administration of Suzhou city, which is about 100 kilometres east of Shanghai.