MILAN/KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Malaysian oil and gas services provider Wah Seong Corp (WAHE.KL: Quote, Profile, Research) is interested in buying a stake in troubled Italian pipe coating company Socotherm (SCTM.MI: Quote, Profile, Research), a Wah Seong executive said on Friday.

"Yes, there is some interest on our part to look at acquiring a stake in this company (Socotherm) but we are not yet at the stage of talking about numbers," Wah Seong Deputy Managing Director Giancarlo Maccagno said. An unsourced report in Italian business weekly Il Mondo on Friday said Wah Seong, Malaysia's third-largest oil and gas services provider, is ready to invest 50-100 million euros to help save Socotherm. "The 50-100 million euros is pure speculation on the part of the writer.

It's far too early to talk about numbers and what equity is available to us," Maccagno said. At the start of August, Socotherm, which specialises in coatings for petrol, gas and water pipes, filed for creditor protection. In the first half of the year, Socotherm reported a net loss of 57.2 million euros ($82.52 million), widening from 14.9 million euros a year earlier, with sales of 84.2 million euros, down 42.1 percent.

Socotherm shares have been suspended from trade since the start of August. (Reporting by Julie Goh in Kuala Lumpur, writing by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Hans Peters) ($1=.6931 Euro)