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Singapore Finance Minister Huang Xuncai Prime Minister’s heir, The ruling People’s Action Party seeks to restore public support and cement the city-state’s status as an international financial hub.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who has been prime minister since 2004, announced on social media late Thursday that ministers backed Wong with “overwhelming support” to lead the so-called “fourth generation team” of the ruling PAP. The fourth-generation team is a group of young ministers lining up to take over the ruling party, with its leader expected to be the next prime minister.

“This succession decision is crucial for Singapore,” Lee said. “This will ensure the continuity and stability of the leadership that is the hallmark of our system.” Huang Guangyu, 49, will become the fourth leader in the quasi-authoritarian state’s 56-year history.

The announcement comes as the People’s Action Party, which has been in power since independence and transformed Singapore into an international business hub, faces pressure to rein in immigration and deal with an increasingly divisive geopolitical environment.

Do you think Huang Xuncai is the right choice for the Prime Minister of Singapore?Tell me what you think [email protected]. Thanks for reading FirstFT Asia — Emily

Latest news on Ukraine war:

• BREAKING NEWS: Russia’s flagship naval ship Moskva in the Black Sea, has sunkthe country’s Ministry of Defense confirmed.

• inflation: Policymakers at central banks in Singapore and South Korea have become the latest tighten monetary policy The war in Ukraine sparked global inflation.

• Sanctions: UK will freeze An estimated £10 billion in assets Held by two longtime business partners of Roman Abramovich.catch up with our narrator On why the US only imposed sanctions on some Russian oligarchs.

• Wall Street: Bank of America this week Details billions of dollars in potential damage From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while warning them that there is no end in sight to the market turmoil.

• View: Western voters face a choice: Peace in Ukraine or keep air conditioning while war pushes up energy prices, Gillian Tate wrote.

Five more stories in the news

1. Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter at a $43 billion valuation Tesla boss made one Hostile Takeover of Twitter His offer valued the company at $43.4 billion, although he acknowledged that his strategy to take the social media platform private could fail.

2. China escalates zero coronavirus propaganda China’s official news agency Xinhua today published an article warning the country’s medical system Risking a “Crash” In the case of a massive Covid outbreak. This comes after President Xi Jinping yesterday called on citizens to “overcome complacency” in “dealing with the virus mutation”.

3. Pakistani army refutes Imran Khan’s US conspiracy claims In rare public comments on Thursday, Army spokesman Major General Babar Iftihar said, Denies Imran Khan’s claims Pakistan’s National Security Council concluded last month that there was a conspiracy to end the former cricket star’s premiership.

4. Islamic State ‘Beatles’ member convicted U.S. jury finds Isis fighters
El Shafee Elsheikh, former British citizen, Convicted of all charges in this case, including hostage-taking resulting in death and conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens abroad. He faces a maximum life sentence.

5. German spies reject offer to meet Wirecard’s Marsalek in Moscow German Foreign Intelligence Service last year Recuses proposal to meet former Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek in MoscowFears that the invitation to speak to the fugitive was a trap set by Russia’s FSB spy agency, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.

future days

Songkran Thai New Year in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and other parts of South and Southeast Asia will be celebrated throughout the weekend. Some markets in the region will be closed today.

sun day in korea The reclusive nation will celebrate the birthday of its first leader, Kim Il Sung.

Easter and Passover Markets around the world will be closed for Good Friday, from Singapore to the UK and the US. Passover also begins at sunset on the same day. Pope Francis will preside over Easter Mass in St Peter’s Square on Sunday in Vatican City.

invincible game Injury service personnel competition kicks off in The Hague in January 2019 Saturday.

Join us for the FT Crypto & Digital Asset Summit April 26-27. Register today Be a part of important conversations with the global financial and corporate elite as they forge the way forward to connect traditional finance and future crypto leaders.

what are we still reading

Succession crisis threatening Japan’s economy The world’s third-largest economy is built on craftsmanship and family businesses, but Japan’s rapidly shrinking and ageing population means lack of heirs This legacy is now in jeopardy.

FT Interview: Panasonic Boss The Japanese electronics group expects Introduces its next-generation electric vehicle battery To help the company diversify away from Tesla as it refocuses after a period of aggressive restructuring, Yuki Kusumi told the Financial Times’ Eri Sugiura and Antoni Slodkowski.

A corner of France, explaining the country’s political divisions To understand the forces reshaping French politics, just visit the thriving city of Bordeaux in southwestern France and the country’s rural areas and small towns “The Poverty of the New Moon” around.

The twists and turns of Toshiba’s auction road Toshiba entered the auction process via a scenic route, a charitable take on it. Another view is that, given the spectacle along the way, including accounting fraud, bankruptcy, multiple CEO resignations, and a war with investors, This company is lostwrote Leo Lewis.

New eLearning Entrepreneur The pandemic has sparked an increase in online MBAs and normalized digital enterprise training and distance school learning.Now, independent entrepreneurs are finding niches where they can make money from students who want to earn single-point vocational skills What traditional classrooms do not cover.

books

A great revival in the time of a pandemic The joy of turning pages Highlights the extraordinary flexibility of the classic reading format. Three new works on books reveal why the technology of binding pages remains so resilient.