ROME (MF-Dow Jones)--The Italian government will meet with Fiat SpA (F.MI) executives and labor unions next Monday or Tuesday to discuss the carmaker's growth plans, Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said Thursday.

The German government early Thursday said Fiat and Austrian-Canadian firm Magna International Inc. (MGA) are its two preferred bidders to buy Adam Opel GmbH, the German unit of General Motors Corp. (GM).

Scajola earlier this month said Fiat must keep its Italian plants open if it goes ahead with a plan to expand abroad to create one of the world's largest automakers.

-By Luca Di Leo, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 06 697 66921; luca.dileo@dowjones.com