CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Under the 2017 agreement, Sri Lanka Ports Authority created Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG), which then became a joint venture after China Merchant Ports bought an 85 per cent stake in HIPG as part of the Chinese company’s US$1.12 billion investment into the port.

Detailed explanation-2: -Struggling to pay back over eight billion-dollar Chinese loans and investments, the previous Sri Lankan government has handed over the majority share of the Hambantota port to a Chinese state-owned company on a 99-year lease to raise USD 1.2 billion.

Detailed explanation-3: -COLOMBO, Sri Lanka-It all began 20 years ago, when China loaned Sri Lanka more than $1 billion to build a fancy new port-what would become its second-largest-on its southern coast. The Hambantota port, with its strategic location near busy Indian Ocean shipping routes, was touted as good for Sri Lankan commerce.

Detailed explanation-4: -Sri Lanka became a flagship country of China’s engagement with South Asia with an investment of US$12.1 billion between 2006-2019. This was equivalent to 14 percent of Sri Lanka’s GDP in 2018. These investments were often accompanied by financial assistance and high-interest loans too.