CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.’s shares dropped by the most in nearly two weeks following news its Hong Kong billionaire owner Li Ka-shing is considering delaying the signing of a controversial deal to sell his Panama Canal ports to a consortium including BlackRock Inc.

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 with the matter, after the Hong Kong billionaire irked Beijing with his plan to sell two Panama ports to a global consortium.

Chinese regulators have also begun examining the Hong Kong tycoon’s family’s investments, both domestic and overseas, in an effort to map the full extent of their financial interests