Lanka to sell 80pc of port to Chinese firm

Sri Lanka will sell to a Chinese company 80 percent of a $1.5-billion port in its south, where China has also been offered an investment zone, in a bid to cut the country's debt burden, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said.

The move follows an offer made by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe during a visit to China in April, to swap equity in Sri Lankan infrastructure projects against  $8 billion in debt the Indian Ocean island owes to China.

The Hambantota port was built with the help of Chinese loans and contractors in 2010 under former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, as part of efforts to boost development of infrastructure.