Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison is facing intense criticism from Beijing over its ports sale to a BlackRock-led consortium, fuelling speculation as to whether China could take steps to scupper the deal.

The city’s chief executive said a deal between the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison and BlackRock, a major American investment firm, requires “serious attention.”

Hong Kong's leader has waded into a controversy over a prominent conglomerate’s decision to sell its Panama Canal port assets to a consortium including American investment bank BlackRock Inc., a deal that has angered Beijing and highlights how escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington can leave the Chinese financial