BERLIN, July 1 (Reuters) - French drugmaker Sanofi is nearing a decision to invest between 1.3 billion and 1.5 billion euros ($1.4-$1.6 billion) to upgrade its production of long-acting insulin shots in Germany, a person familiar with the plan told Reuters on Monday.

The expected investment would be the latest in a string of recent wins by Germany's ruling coalition to attract foreign investments, particularly in the pharmaceuticals sector.

German newspaper Handelsblatt, which first reported the investment plan on Monday, cited German government sources as saying Sanofi changed course after initially considering shifting production of its insulin brand Lantus to France and was now close to committing to an upgrade of its German site in Frankfurt's Hoechst district. The company said it would not comment on specific investment projects. A German government spokesperson said Chancellor Olaf Scholz was "very much looking forward" to further developments but it was for the company to provide an update.

Among recent wins by Germany's ruling coalition to attract healthcare investments, Daiichi Sankyo said in February it would spend about 1 billion euros to boost its work on precision cancer drugs near Munich.

U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly in November last year pledged to invest 2.3 billion euros to make obesity and diabetes drugs in Germany.

Scholz's coalition government, whose three constituent parties suffered big losses in European elections last month, is eager to bolster its economic credentials ahead of general elections next year.

Europe's biggest economy is expected to return to growth of 0.3% to 0.4% this year after a 0.3% contraction in 2023, which was the weakest performance among big euro zone countries.

But foreign companies announced record levels of new investment in Germany last year despite the downturn and high energy prices, a report showed in May. (Reporting by Klaus Lauer in Berlin Writing by Ludwig Burger Editing by Sabine Wollrab, Rachel More and Susan Fenton )