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COFCO decided right from the start it needed to play a key role in the local community.

Having already hired 80 employees locally, Liang said he expects to have a full capacity of 300 people when fully operational next year.

"We are keen to employ as many local people as possible in senior management positions," he said.

According to a recent report from global management consulting company McKinney & Co, one of the biggest issues facing Chinese companies looking for international expansion remains being able to find enough managers with overseas experience.

It said creating the perfect balance between local people and incoming Chinese has to be carefully planned, and success can often depend on whether that balance is right.

Liang said that he insists his Chinese managers employed to work in Thailand have been fully trained, not only in the local language and laws, but also in local culture and customs.

"We also provide Chinese lessons for our local staff," he added.

Within his workforce there are also Chinese managers hired locally, such as Jing Jing, a Chinese graduate who has been working and living in Thailand for more than five years.

"It's actually been quite easy to knit myself into the local community," said Jing, a graduate from Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region who speaks fluent Thai, "because we don't actually look that different, which helps too".

After generations of immigration, the Chinese are the second-largest ethnic group in Thailand, accounting for 14 percent of the country's total population.

"I also like the fact that most things are cheaper here, the lifestyle is very easy going, plus flight tickets from Nanning (the capital city of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region) to here are actually cheaper than to many Chinese cities, making Bangkok closer to home than Beijing or Shanghai," added the 30-year-old office worker.

"I know many like me who have married local people, and others who have bought property or become successful entrepreneurs.

"Many are now being hired by Chinese companies who have established an office or factory in Thailand," she said, adding that she knows of around 100 of her college friends working for Chinese companies in Bangkok, including for some big names such as Huawei and Haier.

Since 2007, nearly 30 Chinese companies have established a presence in the Rayong Industrial Zone, involved in industries ranging from electronics and auto parts, to rubber and metal.

COFCO Biochemical said that one of the reasons for its acquisition of a local factory was to secure a better supply of raw materials, particularly cassava, a crop grown for its edible starchy root which is a major source of carbohydrates, of which Thailand is a main producing area.

"The acquisition will help diversify our raw material supply, and contribute to the expansion of our citrate business, further improving regional distribution and enhancing economic benefits," the company said.

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