TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Mitsubishi Rayon Co. said Monday that its takeover of British chemical producer Lucite International Group was being held up by Chinese regulators but that there would be no change to the deal.

Mitsubishi Rayon said that the Chinese competition authorities had not yet approved its 16-billion-dollar acquisition of the British acrylics maker, originally expected to be completed in January.

"But there won't be any change in the deal due to the delay," said Mariko Ishikawa, a Mitsubishi Rayon spokeswoman.

Neither party in the deal is based in China but both have sales and manufacturing operations so that they are required to gain Beijing's approval, the spokeswoman said.

The Financial Times reported on Monday that China's ministry of commerce was the sole antitrust regulator worldwide to withhold approval of the deal.

The British newspaper said it was the latest example of Beijing's flexing its muscles over international deals, fuelling concerns about protectionism in the communist country.

In November, Mitsubishi said it would acquire the British group in a friendly takeover to become a leading manufacturer of methyl methacrylate, used in car parts and electronics devices such as liquid crystal displays.