SANTIAGO, June 15 (Reuters) - Chile’s anti-trust regulator FNE said on Friday it would open an investigation into the effects on the market of China’s Tianqi purchase last month of a 24 percent stake in SQM , one of the world’s top lithium producers. Chile’s government under former President Michelle Bachelet in March filed a complaint with the FNE alleging a potential fusion between the two lithium giants would distort the global market for the key ingredient in the batteries that power electric vehicles. (Reporting by Aislinn Laing and Dave Sherwood; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Chilean anti-trust regulator FNE is opening an investigation into the effect on the market of Chinese lithium company Tianqi's purchase of a 24 percent stake in Chilean lithium mining firm SQM. The Chilean government's previous administration filed a complaint with the anti-trust agency in March alleging that the deal between the companies would distort the global market for lithium, an important component of batteries used in electric vehicles.