SOFIA - China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region is planning to invest 10 billion yuan ($1.57 billion) in the construction of an urban complex in Bulgaria, a Chinese official said on Thursday.

Zhang Shude, Chief Engineer of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Economic and Information Commission, made the statement at the opening ceremony of a Bulgaria-China Business Forum, which gathered 12 companies and two research organizations from Inner Mongolia and over 50 Bulgarian potential partners.

Zhang, who was the head of the Chinese delegation, said the delegation's goal was to select a favorable city in Bulgaria where the complex would be built.

They would also discuss real estate market in Bulgaria, joint projects in the manufacture and sales of wine, growing forage crops and dairy production, Zhang said.

Lu Yongming, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese embassy in Sofia, also said Inner Mongolia and Bulgaria could complement each other in their economic development.

For his part, Tsvetan Simeonov, President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), said China had been a longtime, serious and reliable partner for Bulgaria.