South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air said Thursday it had bought a majority stake in rival Asiana Airlines for $1 billion, making it the effective owner four years after first expressing its takeover intentions.With the acquisition of a 63.88 percent stake, Korean Air said it had invested 1.5 trillion won in the merger, “making Asiana Airlines a subsidiary” of the company.The move will create Asia’s second-biggest airline group based on capacity, after Singapore Air, and the 10th-largest globally, according to Bloomberg News.The final phase of the tie-up follows the European Union’s approval in February, granted on the condition that the flag carrier divests Asiana’s global cargo freighter business as part of antitrust measures.The European Commission, the bloc’s powerful antitrust authority, last year expressed concerns the takeover could restrict competition on routes between Europe and South Korea.It had concerns about the impact on cargo transport services between all of Europe and South Korea.The approval was also contingent on Korean Air making “necessary assets” available to South Korean rival T’way Air to launch operations on four overlapping routes: Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris, and Rome.With Asiana Airlines as its subsidiary, Korean Air will “strengthen the national aviation industry’s competitiveness, enhance Incheon Airport’s hub capabilities, and expand its global network reach”, the airline said in a press release.It described the merger as a “strategic milestone for Korea’s aviation industry”.Asiana Airlines will convene a shareholders meeting in January to pick a new board of directors appointed by the parent Korean Air, it said.It added that there would be no workforce restructuring during the integration, with employees in overlapping roles “reassigned within the organisation”.Korean Air currently operates a fleet of 158 aircraft with more than 20,000 employees, serving 115 cities in 40 countries.Ahead of the merger’s approval, Korean Air said in March it would sign a $13.7 billion deal with Airbus to purchase 33 A350 series aircraft to strengthen its long-term fleet operations.

Australia will force Meta and Google to pay for news shared on their platforms under a new scheme unveiled Thursday, threatening to tax them if they refuse to strike deals with local media.Traditional media companies the world over are in a battle for survival as precious advertising dollars are hoovered up online.Australia wants big tech companies to compensate local publishers for sharing news links that drive traffic to their platforms, an idea they have baulked at in the past. “It is important that digital platforms play their part. They need to support access to quality journalism that informs and strengthens our democracy,” Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said.Social media platforms with Australian revenue of more than US$160 million a year will be taxed a still-to-be-decided figure earmarked to pay for news.But they can avoid paying the tax if they voluntarily enter into commercial agreements with Australian media companies.It is the latest salvo in Australia’s efforts to reign in the tech giants. Australia last month voted for new laws that will ban under-16s from social media.It has also mooted slapping fines on companies that fail to stamp out offensive content and the spread of disinformation.

Equities swung in Asian trade Thursday following another record day on Wall Street fuelled by inflation data that reinforced expectations for a US interest rate cut next week, while traders also remained hopeful for more measures to stimulate China’s economy.Seoul’s Kospi ticked higher for a third straight day, eating further into the losses sustained in a sell-off that came in the wake of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law declaration.Hopes that the Federal Reserve will lower borrowing costs for a third time in a row next week were bolstered Wednesday by figures showing the US consumer price index rising in line with expectations in November.While the gauge continues to sit above the central bank’s two percent target, swaps markets indicate there is a 98 percent chance policymakers will make the reduction.On Wall Street, the Nasdaq ended above 20,000 points for the first time, while the S&P 500 was a whisker away from its own record.However, analysts warned the outlook for 2025 was less clear.”Evidence in recent months suggest the decline in inflation has lost momentum while economic activity and the labour market have remained resilient,” said National Australia Bank senior forex strategist Rodrigo Catril.”These dynamics suggest that after cutting in December, the Fed looks set to sit on the sidelines for a while with an increasing risk that the coming pause won’t be a couple of months, but rather a couple of quarters.”Adding to the uncertainty is the presidency of Donald Trump, who takes back the White House next month and has pledged to slash taxes and regulations and ramp up tariffs — measures some warn could reignite prices.In Asian trade, Hong Kong and Shanghai edged up as dealers kept an eye on China amid hopes that leaders will unveil more help for the economy, which is struggling under the weight of weak consumer spending and a chronic property crisis.President Xi Jinping and other key officials announced on Monday their first major shift in policy for more than a decade, saying they would “implement a more active fiscal policy and an appropriately relaxed” strategy.That sparked hopes for more interest rate cuts and the freeing up of more cash for lending.Beijing has already unveiled a raft of measures to kickstart growth but observers said there was concern at the lack of concrete action.The “cautious market response in China suggests that investors are sceptical about the government’s commitment to substantial, direct financial interventions — essentially the ‘helicopter money’ that many believe is necessary to invigorate the economy”, said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.Meanwhile, it emerged that economic officials in outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration would meet their Chinese counterparts for talks on Thursday in a final effort to strengthen ties before Trump returns.Shares in Seoul rose again as lawmakers prepare for a second impeachment vote on Yoon at the weekend, after the first fell short on Saturday, with the leader of his own party urging members to attend the meeting and vote “according to their conviction and conscience”.Still, the president remained defiant and vowed to “fight with the people until the very last minute”.The won continues to hover around two-year lows of 1,430 per dollar amid the uncertainty sparked by the December 3 crisis.Among other Asian markets, Tokyo gained more than one percent on a weaker yen, while Singapore and Taipei also rose. There were losses in Sydney, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta.The euro remained under pressure ahead of an expected rate cut by th European Central Bank later on Thursday, while France’s President Emmanuel Macron fights to appoint a new prime minister following the removal of Michel Barnier last week.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 39,881.10 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 20,210.71Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,437.20Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0502 from $1.0498 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2763 from $1.2752Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.20 yen from 152.40 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.30 from 82.31 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $70.24 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $73.51 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 44,148.56 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 8,301.62 (close)