China’s antitrust regulator has said it will review the sale of two ports on the Panama Canal by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison to a consortium led by BlackRock, adding to uncertainty around the geopolitically sensitive deal.

While China could argue the sale harms competition or national security, another approach would be to negotiate existing rights for Chinese vessels, legal experts say Beijing has signalled it will turn to its anti-monopoly law to review Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings' controversial deal to sell its strategic Panama and other ports but legal academics told the Post it could be challenging for it to prove a "real risk" to competition.

CK Hutchison is moving ahead with its Panama ports sale as scheduled, in a sign China’s anger over the transaction hasn’t disrupted negotiations. Li Ka-shing’s firm and a BlackRock-led group are finalizing due diligence,