FILE PHOTO - A group of Sri Lankan visitors at the new deep water shipping port watch Chinese dredging ships work in Hambantota, 240 km (150 miles) southeast of Colombo, March 24, 2010. REUTERS/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/File Photo
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government wants a Chinese company to agree to cut its stake in a strategic port project by up to a quarter, as part of a renegotiation aimed at blunting public and political opposition to the deal.
After signing an agreement in December, state-run China Merchants Port Holdings had been expected to pay $1.12 billion for a 99-year lease on an 80 percent stake in Sri Lanka's southern Hambantota port - part of Beijing's ambitious plans to create a modern-day "Silk Road" across Asia.
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