The unexpected criticism of the deal, including the sale of assets near the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led consortium, will, in particular, sharpen the scrutiny of a possible sale of the U.S. assets of TikTok, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, they added.

CK Hutchison Holdings chose to sell its port assets to a consortium that includes BlackRock Inc., apparently angering Beijing.

HONG KONG] CK Hutchison Holdings warned of a deteriorating global business environment due to geopolitical and trade tensions, as the Hong Kong conglomerate reported weaker-than-expected profit while a ports sale plan faces uncertainty after infuriating Beijing.