Beijing's veiled attack on Hong Kong's CK Hutchison for selling its Panama Canal ports by posting a blistering newspaper commentary against it is an attempt to pile pressure on the conglomerate to either axe the deal or negotiate better terms that protect the national interest,

The company agreed to sell a controlling stake in Panama ports that had become a political lightning rod. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Beijing signaled its displeasure over CK Hutchison Holdings’ agreement to sell its majority controlling stake in Panama ports to a BlackRock-led consortium.

Shares of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison slid more than 6% on Friday after China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office posted a commentary in state media criticising the company's recent port sale as a betrayal of China.

Shares in Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison fell 5 per cent on Friday after China criticised the sale of its Panama Canal ports and said it should “think twice” about the $22.8bn deal with US asset manager BlackRock.

China’s top office on Hong Kong affairs has reposted an attack on CK Hutchison’s decision to sell its Panama Canal ports, amplifying a Beijing-backed newspaper’s warnings for the Li Ka-shing-owned conglomerate to “think twice” about which side it stands on.

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s company CK Hutchison Holdings, which recently sold its Panama Canal ports, should think twice about which side it wants to stand with, according to a scathing newspaper commentary posted by Beijing’s top office for the city’s affairs on its website.