Comment / HutchWatch: Beijing furious; Panama may have to wait

ID 76854674 © Richard Brookes | Dreamstime.com

Over the past week the probability that the Chinese government was caught unawares by the Hutch-BlackRock-TiL deal has risen exponentially, if noises out of Beijing are interpreted correctly.

The latest, broken by Bloomberg, is that China has barred its state-owned firms from doing business with CK Hutchison.

Honouring the traditions of journalistic attribution, here’s Bloomberg’s first three paras:

China has told state-owned firms to hold off on any new collaboration with businesses linked to Li Ka-shing and his family, according to people familiar ...