The local government announced on Wednesday that China's Sunny Optical Technology Group intends to invest up to US$2.5 billion in the development of an optical production complex in northern Vietnam.

The complex would span between 26 and 40 hectares in Thai Nguyen province's Yen Binh Industrial Park, according to a statement issued by the provincial People's Committee following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the lens manufacturer and the province.

The committee stated that construction of the facility would take five years after the local authorities granted an investment licence, and that it would supply the electronics and automobile industries.

The largest Vietnam-based smartphone factory is currently located in Thai Nguyen province, 45 kilometres north of Hanoi.

Sunny Optical Technology Company Limited, also known as Sunny Optical or simply Sunny, is a Chinese civilian-run and publicly traded company that manufactures optical lenses.

Sunny Optical Technology, headquartered in Yuyao, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, designs, manufactures, and sells optical devices such as lens modules, camera modules, photoelectric vision products, microscopic, analytical, and surveying instruments. It supplies major Chinese smartphone brands such as Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo.