General Electric to invest well over 500 mln euros in Italy - sources

MILAN (Reuters) - General Electric will sign agreements on Sunday to invest well over 500 million euros ($546 million) in central Italy, three sources close to the matter said on Friday.

"More than 500 million euros is earmarked for a project to build oil and gas turbines in Tuscany," the sources said.

A further 200 million euros of investments involving GE's aviation unit Avio Aero will also be announced, two of the people said. But a third source said some of those investments would include public funding.

The agreements will be signed in Florence in the presence of GE Chairman Jeff Immelt and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, the sources said.

GE, whose Italian operations are headquartered in Milan, is holding an oil and gas conference in Florence on Monday and Tuesday.

The Renzi government is keen to lure foreign investments to Italian shores to help kickstart its economy which is showing fragile signs of growth after emerging last year from the worst recession since World War Two.

($1 = 0.9158 euros)

(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Crispian Balmer)