(Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc's (NASDAQ: QCOM) $44 billion deal to buy Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ: NXPI) is looking "more optimistic now", the Wall Street Journal quoted a Beijing official as saying.

Shares of NXP were up 5.5 percent at $112.52 and Qualcomm was up 1.6 percent at $57.86 in late morning trade.

The deal has been approved by eight of the nine required global regulators, with only the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) continually stalling the takeover amid U.S.-China trade tensions.

Qualcomm and NXP declined to comment, while MofCom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that the proposed takeover had yet to see any concrete breakthrough in China.

However, Chinese regulators this week have cleared two big deals - Toshiba Corp's <6502.T> $18 billion sale of its chip unit to a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital, and Microchip's (NASDAQ: MCHP) $8.35 billion deal to buy Microsemi (NASDAQ: MSCC).

(Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

General News Mergers and Acquisitions Reuters