July 10 (Reuters) - Billionaire Richard Li's efforts to

expand his insurance business into mainland China have been put

on hold after Beijing reacted with fury to his father Li

Ka-shing's plan to sell a suite of global ports to U.S. firm

BlackRock ( BLK ), Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

Richard, business tycoon Li Ka-shing's younger son, was in

advanced talks to secure an insurance license in China, the

report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The discussions were suspended shortly after the port sale

was announced in early March amid growing uncertainty over

Beijing's stance on the deal, the report said.

A deal would have given FWD Group, Li's insurance

firm, long-sought access to the lucrative Chinese market,

possibly through an acquisition or partnership with a mainland

insurance firm, it said.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. FWD Group

did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

Bloomberg had reported in March that China has instructed

state-owned firms to pause new deals with businesses linked to

Li Ka-shing and his family after his plan to sell two ports in

Panama to a BlackRock ( BLK )-led consortium.

FWD Group raised $442 million through an initial public

offering in Hong Kong earlier this week.