iPhone Producer Hon Hai Precision Plans $3.1bn GDR Sale

Hon Hai Precision, the Taipei-based manufacturer of Apple's iPhones, proposes to raise about $3.1bn through sale of new shares to foreign investors to fund its overseas expansion and into Taiwan's growing 4G telecom market.

Hon Hai will seek shareholder approval for the T$93bn ($3.1bn, £1.8bn, €2.3bn) share sale at its AGM in June, with the contract electronics manufacturer looking to sell up to one billion new shares through global deposit receipts (GDR), reported the Economic Daily News.

Hon Hai shares finished 0.54% lower at T$92.50 on 26 May.

Hon Hai Precision, the largest firm in the Foxconn Technology Group, earlier in the month, said first-quarter net income jumped 20% to NT$19.5bn ($647mn), matching expectations.

In January, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou said his firm was studying the feasibility of building an advanced panel manufacturing plant in the US that would produce liquid display screens larger than 60 inches. The move is expected to address the company's difficulty in shipping large-sized displays to the US from Asia.

In November, the company said it was considering a $40m investment in manufacturing and research facilities in Pennsylvania.