Beijing’s threat to stop a tycoon’s sale of his ports business has dealmakers wondering if they can still operate without political interference.

We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.” Thus spoke Donald Trump shortly after BlackRock, an American investment firm, announced on March 4th that it would buy two ports on the Panama Canal from ck Hutchison (ckh),

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is angry about a Hong Kong company’s plan to sell Panama Canal ports to a U.S.-led group, in part because the company didn’t seek Beijing’s approval in advance.