The regional premier of Hesse, the German state which will contribute to a bailout of the automaker Opel, opposes a bid by the Chinese group BAIC and backs Canadian rival Magna, he said on Friday in a press report.
Opel cannot be run by a company that "produces 12,000 cars a year and does not even have the backing of the Chinese government," Roland Koch told the regional newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt.
Magna is "the best solution" and has "a large advance on other bidders," he added.
Magna and General Motors, Opel's parent company, signed a non-binding letter of intention in late May with backing from the German government, which is to provide 1.5 billion euros (2.1 billion dollars) in public credit for the deal.
Hesse, where Opel's headquarters and main assembly plant are located, is the biggest contributor to the package, with 474 million euros in aid.
BAIC has also expressed interest in Opel and has improved its offer, allowing GM to negotiate with Magna from a stronger position.
Both GM and Magna have set a mid-July deadline for reaching a final accord on Opel.
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