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

* GM Europe head expects to sell Opel to Magna soon -paper

* China's BAIC lobbies for its Opel bid -paper

(Adds bullet points, detail on BAIC bid)

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 (MGa.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) soon. [ID:nL4468611]

Sources had told Reuters in June that General Motors GMGMQ.PK 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 (SBER03.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) (SBER.RTS: Quote, Profile, Research). [ID:nLH540946]