Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings has maintained a pointed silence since Beijing showed its wrath over the Hong Kong-based firm’s decision to sell its Panama ports, but analysts said the operations have been plagued by so many issues leaving the company caught between a rock and a hard place.

An exit was a matter of time given the factors at play, they said.

While the geopolitical tensions between the United States and China were made worse by US President Donald Trump’s demand to free the Panama Canal from what he saw as Chinese control probably mattered, there were also the Panamanian authorities and their domestic politics to wrestle with.

But another overlooked yet critical aspect of the deal was how the nature of the port business was itself changing into becoming a vertically integrated system, analysts said.

These factors combined made the sale the best outcome for the company, though not necessarily for the Li family’s political relationship with Beijing, and whether they will bend to the pressure and reverse the sale remains an open question.

Willy Lin Sun-mo, chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers’ Council, noted the trend of shipping lines becoming more vertically integrated, a move that could affect the future profitability of port operators such as CK Hutchison.