GM does not owe Opel any money-Opel chief

FRANKFURT Nov 21, 2008; Maria Sheahan writing for Reuters reported that General Motors does not owe its German unit Opel any cash, Opel's head Hans Demant told German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau's online edition.

Money transactions from the U.S. parent were so far unchanged, the newspaper cited Demant as saying in an article published on Friday.

The statement contradicted comments made recently by Klaus Franz, top labour leader at GM's European operations, of which Opel is a part.

Franz said that Detroit is sitting on over 1 billion euros ($1.25 billion) in fees it owes to Opel, which had dimmed the German carmaker's financial prospects as GM scrambles to get a bailout from the U.S. government.

Opel last week became the first European carmaker to seek a government bailout, asking Berlin to guarantee loans to the tune of 1 billion euros for 2009.

Demant told Wirtschafts Woche magazine in an interview to be published on Monday the German government need not worry that its financial backing could trickle over to GM's coffers.

"Guarantees don't translate into cash flows. They would just be a foundation for loans that we could then obtain," he said.

He also said that Opel is not yet "with its back to the wall" and has only asked for the German government's help in case GM's situation further deteriorates, cutting off its access to fresh funds from the U.S.

A spokesman for Opel said the company still had enough liquidity to last well into 2009, even without loan guarantees and a recovery in the United States.

Editing by David Cowell