India’s former PM Manmohan Singh dies at 92

Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter we’ll cover:

• The death of India’s former PM

• South Korea’s impeachment case

• Foreign investments trapped in China

India’s former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who liberalised the economy and then led the country through a period of strong economic growth, has died.

Singh, 92, was being treated for age-related medical conditions, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi said, as it announced his death yesterday.

The Oxford university-educated economist set India on a path to becoming a fast-growing economy as finance minister from 1991 to 1996, when he opened up the country to more foreign trade and private investment.

However, Singh was a surprise choice by the Congress party to be prime minister after it won parliamentary elections in 2004.

Alongside a growth rate of almost 7 per cent, Singh’s decade as premier was marred by allegations of widespread corruption against his party’s leaders.

Plus, this what I’ll be watching later today and this weekend:

• South Korea impeachment case: One day after South Korea’s main opposition party sought to impeach the acting president, the country’s constitutional court will hold a hearing today over whether to formally dismiss the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.

• Russia unemployment: Data on unemployment, wages and retail sales are set to be released today.

• Georgia’s new president: Newly elected president Mikheil Kavelashvili, a pro-Russian firebrand, will be sworn in on Sunday.

• Croatian election: Polls open on Sunday for the first round of voting in the presidential election.

Five more top stories

1. Russian anti-aircraft fire could have caused a plane to crash in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, according to US and regional officials. The Azerbaijan Airlines flight was en route from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny in southern Russia when it diverted and crash-landed in Kazakhstan. Here’s what we know about the crash so far.

2. The World Bank raised its forecast for China’s GDP growth next year by 0.4 percentage points to 4.5 per cent. It also repeated calls for President Xi Jinping to pursue deep reforms to address lagging confidence and structural problems in the world’s second-biggest economy. Read the details of the multilateral lender’s report.

3. Turkey’s central bank has lowered its main interest rate for the first time in almost two years. Slower consumer demand and the strength of the lira set the stage for a larger-than-expected cut of 250 basis points. The government’s recent decision to raise the minimum wage by just 30 per cent next year may have also played a role in the central bank’s decision, analysts said.

4. Finland is investigating a Russian oil tanker on allegations of damaging underwater electricity and communication cables. The Eagle S — which is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, according to people familiar with the probe — was seized yesterday, a day after the Estlink 2 subsea electricity cable in the Gulf of Finland was disconnected. Read the full story here.

5. Members of Syria’s new police force have been killed in clashes in Tartus province, marking the most violent night since the ousting of the Assad regime. The Syrian transitional government said its forces were carrying out a security operation on Wednesday night when they were ambushed by loyalists of deposed president Bashar al-Assad.

How well did you keep up with the news this year? Take our quiz.

News in-depth

China’s slowing economy coupled with Beijing’s crackdown on initial public offerings has left foreign investors’ capital trapped in the country. For the first time in a decade, there is no record of any of the 10 largest global private equity groups with operations in China having listed a Chinese company or fully selling their stake through an M&A deal this year, figures from Dealogic show.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Fine wine in the red: Investors have little to toast as prices of top-end Burgundies and vintage Champagnes fall amid slowing Chinese demand.

• Underground war: As South African gold mines are overtaken by criminal gangs, authorities have resorted to siege tactics to “smoke out” miners.

• Cocoa alternatives: Sky-high commodity prices and sustainability pressures have pushed confectionery companies to look for alternative ingredients for sweet treats.

• Demographic crisis: China is stepping up its nationwide campaign to convince single people to date, marry and have children by cold-calling married women and asking universities to introduce so-called love courses.

Chart of the day

Electric vehicles are expected to outsell cars with internal combustion engines in China for the first time next year. The shift marks a historic inflection point that puts the world’s biggest car market years ahead of western rivals.

Take a break from the news

What should you read to get to grips with a new job? Apart from the employee manual, these offbeat classics picked by people working in key sectors can act as spiritual guidebooks, revealing the subtler nuances in corporate culture or the artistry of the day-to-day.