A controversial ports deal between CK Hutchison and a consortium led by US investment firm BlackRock won’t be signed as expected next week – according to a source with close links to the Hong Kong conglomerate.

The Hong Kong-based firm owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing announced earlier this month that it had entered into a in-principle agreement to sell 45 ports from 23 countries – including two ports near the Panama Canal – in a US$23 billion deal.

A filing to the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing stated that the negotiations would last 145 days, with reports suggesting both sides were planning to sign "definitive documents" on April 2.

But the source on Friday revealed that the signing will not happen next week, saying, “Everyone knows why.”

Meanwhile, the State Administration for Market Regulation's anti-monopoly branch told the Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group that it will conduct a review of the deal in accordance with the law to protect fair competition and safeguard the public interest.

A local deputy to the National People’s Congress and chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions, Stanley Ng, said anything irregular that’s discovered in the review should be halted immediately.

Ng further stressed that influential businessmen here must have a sense of national security and consider matters from the perspective of the nation.

The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the central government’s liaison office here have both repeatedly reposted articles from Ta Kung Pao criticising the deal.