Bangkok  - Sany Heavy Industries - a Chinese manufacturer of engineering machinery - plans to invest 40 million dollars in a showroom and production plant in Thailand, media reports said Friday.

Sany Heavy Industry (Thailand) Company plans initially to invest 5-6 million dollars in setting up a showroom in Bangkok next year and then build a production plant in Amata City Industrial Estate in Chonburi province within three years, The Nation newspaper reported.

The Sany Group, ranked among the top-ten "most trusted" listed companies in China, manufactures engineering equipment used in building and road construction.

"The Thai production base will have the capacity to sell a wide range of machinery worth a combined 50 million dollars per year," Sany assistant to the president Yang Zhihua said.

"Besides Thailand and China, we already operate in the US, India and Germany. We're establishing plants in many destinations, including Europe and South America," he added.

The company chose Thailand for its South-East Asia base because of its central location and China's strong bilateral ties with the Asian kingdom. (dpa)