China criticises Hong Kong firm’s sale of majority stake in Panama ports

News Snapshot:

China has criticised the sale of the business that controls ports in Panama to US investors, saying the Hong Kong-based parent company should “think twice” and that the $22.8bn deal is “power politics” that is not in the country’s national interest. Shares in the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison fell more than 6% on Friday after a critical commentary appeared in the Beijing-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao in Hong Kong. Last week, CK Hutchison struck a deal to sell a majority stake in Panama Ports Company, which holds the contract to run the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal until 2047,...