The new Opel formed when Canadian automotive group Magna (MGa.TO) and its Russian partners take over the carmaker plans to invest 170 million euros ($247.5 million) in operations in Russia, Magna co-Chief Executive Siegfried Wolf said on Monday.

He was responding to remarks attributed to an Opel trustee that more than 600 million euros was earmarked to modernize Russia's automotive industry.

That is not correct, Wolf told a news conference he was holding with the head of Russian partner Sberbank (SBER03.MM).

A German government spokesman in Berlin had also cited the figure of 170 million euros on Monday and said this was subject to negotiations.

U.S. automaker General Motors GM.UL agreed last week to sell a 55 percent stake in Opel to Magna and Sberbank.

(Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner and Michael Shields)

Germany Russia