UPDATE 1-German EconMin says Opel deal still open-paper

FRANKFURT, July 5 (Reuters) - The outcome of the bidding war for German carmaker Opel is still up in the air, Germany's economy minister told a German newspaper. "I acknowledge Magna's ambitious goal, wanting to sign a contract by mid July," Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was quoted as saying by Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) in an article to be published on Monday. "However, there still seem to be some unanswered questions." Guttenberg said in the current phase "everyone is free to place offers". Guttenberg's comments come after General Motors Europe President Carl-Peter Forster told another German newspaper in an interview that he expects to sell Opel to Canadian auto parts supplier Magna soon. Sources had told Reuters in June that General Motors and Magna had set a target of July 15 for agreeing on the sale of a majority stake in Opel to the Canadian auto parts group and its Russian partner Sberbank. Magna is the frontrunner to buy Opel, but rival bidders Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Corp (BAIC) and Belgian holding company RHJ International are waiting in the wings. Sources told Reuters on Friday that BAIC had submitted an indicative, non-binding offer for Opel and would make a binding offer by mid-July. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported BAIC had sent letters to several government officials lobbying for its offer, which asks for 2.64 billion euros ($3.7 billion) in government loan guarantees -- less than Magna has asked for, the paper said. BAIC also said in the letter that it did not foresee any closures of German Opel plants, but could not rule out job cuts, the paper said. If successful, BAIC would hold 51 percent in Opel and GM the rest, the paper added. ($1=.7133 Euro) (Reporting by Eva Kuehnen; editing by SImon Jessop) Keywords: OPEL/BIDS ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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