Page 34 - 2024 ANNUAL REPORT FAIR TRADE COMMISSION
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Fair Trade Commission Annual Report 2024
(2) Important mergers
Yieh United Steel Corp. (hereinafter referred to as Yieh United), Yieh Phui Enterprise Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yieh Phui) and their subsidiaries intended to merge with Tang Eng Iron Works Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Tang Eng Iron Works). After the merger, Eng Iron Works as well as control the management or personnel appointment and dismissal. The condition complied with the merger patterns described in Subparagraphs 2, 4 and 5,
With both manufacturing and selling steel sheets, Yieh United and Tang Eng Iron Works were each other’s chief competitors. To review the merger, besides soliciting opinions via email, the FTC also held seminars and invited concerned authorities, scholars and specialists, competitors, downstream businesses and related institutions to join in discussions and impact on the domestic stainless steel industry.
steel market, market concentration was high. Tang Eng Iron Works mainly supplied the domestic market and its prices were relatively low, but the likelihood of both parties raising prices after the merger could not be ruled out. Tang Eng Iron Works would no longer be able to suppress prices while the absence of a competitor would deprive downstream businesses of their room for price negotiation and countervailing power. The disadvantages from competition
Tang Eng Iron Works did not agree to the merger. The overall economic benefit was insignificant and, furthermore, the merger would weaken competition in the domestic steel sheet market. For this reason, the FTC cited Paragraph 1, Article 13 of the Fair Trade Act and prohibited the merger.
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