The firm reported that with the sale to a group that includes BlackRockla, it will acquire 90% of the shares of Panama Ports Company, operator of the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal in the Central American country.

Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison said Tuesday it will sell its controlling stake in a unit that operates two Panamanian ports to a group that includes BlackRock, as the Trump administration steps up pressure against Chinese influence in the region.

With the sale of the licenses, the consortium will acquire 90% of the shares of Panama Ports Company, operator of the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal in the Central American country.

CK Hutchison has been operating the two ports at the Pacific and Atlantic entrances to the canal for more than two decades. Although not financially linked to the Chinese government, Hong Kong companies are subject to state oversight.

The canal, the world's second-busiest interoceanic route, is key to global trade flows and essential for the exchange of goods from the United States, since two-thirds of the goods that pass through the canal are destined for or from the United States.

The sale of Panama port licenses held by billionaire Li Ka-shing's unit of the conglomerate to a consortium including BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment will give it control of an 80% stake in Hutchison Ports worth $14.21 billion.

This will give it control of 43 ports with 199 berths in 23 countries, while the Hong Kong-based consortium will earn cash in excess of $19 billion.

The transaction does not involve any stake in Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, which operates ports in Hong Kong and Shenzhen as well as in southern China, or any other ports in mainland China, CK Hutchison said.

The consortium said it has agreed that negotiations will be on an exclusive basis for a period of 145 days, according to the company.