Australian regulator will not block ChemChina's Syngenta bid

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's competition regulator said on Thursday it will not oppose state-owned Chinese chemicals group ChemChina's proposed $43 billion (£34 billion) acquisition of Swiss seeds group Syngenta. The deal would be China's biggest ever foreign acquisition and is also facing scrutiny from European antitrust regulators. Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it examined the deal because ChemChina owns a subsidiary that competes with Syngenta in Australia. It found the proposed deal would not damage competition in the sector, as the combined entity would still compete with businesses such as Bayer, BASF, Monsanto and DuPont. "Very few customers raised competition concerns," ACCC chairman Rod Sims said in a statement. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Chris Reese)