SANTIAGO – 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% 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.