Samsung Electronics is planning to invest about $4 billion in its US plant to increase production of system chips, used in smartphones, tablets and other electronics products.

The funds will be used to upgrade its production line in the capital of the state of Texas, which will mainly manufacture processors for advanced mobile applications, with mass production slated to begin in the second half of next year, the electronics giant said in a statement.

South Korea's electronic giant said that the investment will be made by Samsung Austin Semiconductor in Texas, the company's only semiconductor plant outside Korea. It will be used to renovate existing operations to accommodate full System LSI (large system integration) production, Samsung said in a statement.

Over the next six months, the company will replace older memory equipment with new manufacturing gear that is better suited to making advanced system chips for smartphones and other mobile devices.

When that work is completed and the retrofitted part of the factory is in production in the second half of 2013, then the entire production of the factory is expected to be devoted to making "system chips" for smartphones and other smart mobile devices.

"We are extremely pleased to extend our presence in Austin and reinforce Samsung's capacity for highly advanced logic products," said Woosung Han, president of Samsung Austin Semiconductor.

The Korean firm said its spending would represent the largest single foreign investment ever made in Texas. The company's total investment in Samsung Austin Semiconductor since 1996 would exceed $13 billion, it said.