Seoul, Jun 29 (IANS): With an aim to tap deeper into the US's large home appliances market, Samsung Electronics said it would invest $380 million in the country to set up new production facility, which is likely to generate about 950 jobs.

The South Korean tech giant said the investment will be made in Newberry county, South Carolina, Yonhap news agency reported.

Yoon Boo-keun, who heads Samsung's home appliance business, met Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina on Wednesday to sign a letter of intent for the project.

The announcement came ahead of the first summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump on Thursday.

Samsung had been considering building a new production facility in the US for the past three years.

The company said it chose Newberry because the area boasts excellent human resources along with sound transportation infrastructure.

Samsung plans to start production from the plant in the first half of 2018.

The latest investment will allow Samsung to expand its business in the US, Yoon said, adding that the company will join forces with industry experts and other innovative companies based in the world's No. 1 economy.

While Samsung took up around 17.3 per cent of the US market for electronic appliances last year, according to the data compiled by industry tracker Traqline, industry watchers said the company aims to further solidify its lead with the new production facility.