Thailand Inflation Remains Negative for 10th Straight Month in January 
India–U.S. Interim Trade Pact Cuts Auto Tariffs but Leaves Tesla Out 
Trump Endorses Japan’s Sanae Takaichi Ahead of Crucial Election Amid Market and China Tensions 
Japanese Pharmaceutical Stocks Slide as TrumpRx.gov Launch Sparks Market Concerns 
Trump Backs Nexstar–Tegna Merger Amid Shifting U.S. Media Landscape 
Gold Prices Slide Below $5,000 as Strong Dollar and Central Bank Outlook Weigh on Metals 
SpaceX Pushes for Early Stock Index Inclusion Ahead of Potential Record-Breaking IPO 
Asian Stocks Slip as Tech Rout Deepens, Japan Steadies Ahead of Election 
Nvidia, ByteDance, and the U.S.-China AI Chip Standoff Over H200 Exports 
Dollar Steadies Ahead of ECB and BoE Decisions as Markets Turn Risk-Off 
Vietnam’s Trade Surplus With US Jumps as Exports Surge and China Imports Hit Record 
Japan Economy Poised for Q4 2025 Growth as Investment and Consumption Hold Firm 
Tencent Shares Slide After WeChat Restricts YuanBao AI Promotional Links 
Dollar Near Two-Week High as Stock Rout, AI Concerns and Global Events Drive Market Volatility 
Gold and Silver Prices Slide as Dollar Strength and Easing Tensions Weigh on Metals 
Rio Tinto Shares Hit Record High After Ending Glencore Merger Talks 
Fed Governor Lisa Cook Warns Inflation Risks Remain as Rates Stay Steady 
Shinsegae’s Emart will not be taking over eBay Korea after the local antitrust regulator finally approved the hypermarket chain’s acquisition plan. The approval was announced on Friday, Oct. 29, so the deal will now certainly push through.
According to The Korea Herald, Korea’s Fair Trade Commission stated it has reviewed and assessed if Emart’s acquisition of eBay Korea would breach any of the country’s regulations related to monopoly. The commission also checked if the companies could obstruct competition in five sectors of the retail industry, such as the online markets and physical retail businesses.
It was in June when Emart agreed to acquire an 80% stake in the Korean unit of eBay, and the value was ₩3.44 trillion won. It then submitted an application for approval at the FTC on July 21. Now the decision is out, and the regulators did not find any issues with the acquisition.
Initially, many raised concerns over the merger deal as they could dominate the market but based on the decision, there is no need to worry about it. This means that competition among the players in this industry will remain fair.
Also, after the antitrust watchdog reviewed the deal, it determined that it may actually help drive a new kind of competition in the retail business. Likewise, Korea Joongang Daily reported the FTC concluded the deal would not limit competition in e-commerce or other related markets but rather, it may give positive results.
“We concluded that concerns for limiting competition in all these categories of business are low,” the publication quoted the FTC as saying in a statement. “As a latecomer, SSG.com’s market share only stands around 3 percent, so the business combination with eBay Korea will not raise its market share significantly.
Finally, the agency added that there is no dominant online shopping business in the domestic market yet, so it is not seeing any issue with Emart’s takeover of eBay Korea. FTC also suggested that the new competition that will arise from this acquisition deal is more beneficial because it is likely to strengthen and boost online competitiveness by traditional offline retailers.
