Terry Gou, chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer, said Sunday if the United States offers him free land, he might join major clients such as Apple to invest over US$7 billion to set up panel manufacturing plants there.

Gou made his remarks while meeting local and foreign media representatives during his company's year-end weiya party. Weiya is a year-end event usually organized by companies for their employees, to express their thanks for their workers' contributions.

He said Hon Hai's Japanese affiliate, Sharp, has core technologies and is cooperating with Corning. He has reached an agreement with Apple. which needs quality display products, to jointly invest in a project to make panels in the U.S.

Whether he will go ahead with the investment plan will depend on whether the U.S. is willing to offer land "at a cost of US$1" for building the panel plants. Pennsylvania is quite active in luring such an investment, he disclosed.

"If a U.S. state is willing to provide low-cost land, electricity and water, why not invest there?" Gou said.

He added that newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump should love to see a vertically integrated industry such as panel manufacturing grow and develop in the country.