UPDATE 1-US task force remains hands-on in GM planning

(For more stories on the National Summit, please double-click on [ID:nN15235398])

* U.S. autos task force active in GM restructuring-CEO

* In talks with Magna, open to talks with others on Opel

* GM June U.S. retail sales tracking ahead of May

By Soyoung Kim

DETROIT, June 17 (Reuters) - The Obama administration's task force is involved on almost a daily basis with General Motor's bankruptcy restructuring and is expected to remain so until most of its best assets are sold, the company's CEO said on Wednesday.

"Our involvement with the task force has been almost every day and it has been about getting GM restructured," GM's Chief Executive Fritz Henderson told reporters on the sidelines of the National Summit.

"I think obviously as we go through this bankruptcy process, they're the buyer, so they're going to be actively involved," he said.

GM GMGMQ.PK, which filed for bankruptcy on June 1, aims to complete a sale process that will allow a much smaller automaker to emerge from court protection by the end of August under the majority ownership of the U.S. government, which has given the automaker $60 billion in taxpayer money.

Henderson said he expected that the level of involvement by government officials would diminish once a bankruptcy judge approves the sale of GM's best assets to a new operating company.

"They want GM to have a world-class board and world-class corporate governance principles," Henderson said. "They're really talking about how does General Motors operate in the future."

GM has named eight members for the board, including former AT&T (T.N) CEO Ed Whitacre, who will serve as new chairman. Four more directors will be appointed with the approval of the U.S. government.

OPEL TALKS CONTINUE

As part of its efforts to dispose of unprofitable assets and leave bankruptcy as a leaner company, GM has reached tentative deals in recent weeks to sell its European Opel brand as well as the Hummer, Saturn and Saab brands.

Henderson said while GM remains in talks with Magna International (MGa.TO) toward finalizing terms for a sale of Opel it was also open to discussions with others. Beijing Automotive Industry Corp and Fiat (FIA.MI) had also been in the running for Opel.

"We don't have an exclusivity agreement. So we're still open to other parties and having discussions with other parties," he said. [ID:nLH540946]