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.

Hong Kong's CK Hutchison will not sign a deal next week to sell its two port operations near the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led group, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, as pressure mounted from Beijing.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Friday it was "not surprised" that China would be upset by Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison's (0001.HK) deal to sell its two port operations near the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led group, after China's market regulator said it would conduct an antitrust review of the deal.