Tengzhong, GM extend Hummer sale deadline -Bloomberg

BEIJING Feb 1 (Reuters) - Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co and General Motors [GM.UL] have agreed to extend by a month their deadline for Tengzhong to close its purchase of GM's Hummer brand, Bloomberg reported, citing a GM official.

The definitive agreement for the sale of Hummer to Tengzhong, a little-known machinery maker in southwestern China, expired on Jan. 31, according to a contract signed in October 2009.

The parties had agreed to extend the deadline to the end of February while they await Chinese regulatory approval, Hummer spokesman Nick Richards told Bloomberg in a report on its website.

"While the transaction approval process is not proceeding as quickly as originally forecast, we're optimistic about the progress that has occurred to date," Hummer Chief Executive Jim Taylor said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg.

There was no immediate comment from China's Ministry of Commerce, which is responsible for the approval of outbound investment by Chinese companies.

A Tengzhong spokeswoman declined to comment.