Morning Minutes: What will make headlines, April 7, 2016

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will open the "Declassified - Corruption Matters" exhibition on Thursday (April 7). PHOTO: AFP

Good morning! Morning Minutes is a round-up of stories that will break on Thursday, April 7, and which we think you'd be interested in.

It appears on weekdays, available by 7am.

Exhibition on fight against corruption

A public Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) exhibition that charts Singapore's anti-corruption journey is slated to be launched today by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The "Declassified - Corruption Matters" exhibition will highlight the experiences of CPIB officers in their fight against corruption, as well as notable corruption cases and the people involved. Also on display is the CPIB's artillery shell casing collected from the 21-gun salute fired during the state funeral procession of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. - PEARL LEE

Vietnam to approve election of new Prime Minister

Mr Nguyen Xuan Phuc (above) is set to replace Mr Nguyen Tan Dung as Vietnam's Prime Minister. PHOTO: REUTERS

Vietnam's National Assembly is expected to rubber-stamp Mr Nguyen Xuan Phuc's election as the new prime minister today, replacing Mr Nguyen Tan Dung. A crippling drought in the Mekong Delta rice bowl and slumping oil revenue are creating fresh headwinds for Vietnam as the new premier - an alumnus of the National University of Singapore - with less economic experience prepares to take over. Mr Dung was relieved from duty yesterday (April 6) at the National Assembly session.

RESULTS OF 1MDB PROBE TO BE TABLED

Malaysia's Public Accounts Committee will present its findings on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad to Parliament today. PHOTO: REUTERS

Malaysia's Public Accounts Committee will table its findings to Parliament today after having deliberated for nearly a year on questionable dealings on Malaysian sovereign wealth 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) that have fuelled calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak's - 1MDB's advisory chief. Of interest will be how much the long-awaited parliamentary review of 1MDB will focus on details from the Auditor-General's review of 1MDB's books, which showed a whopping RM42 billion (S$14.5 billion) of debt as of its last official filings in 2014.

China to release foreign exchange data

China will release its foreign exchange reserves today. PHOTO: REUTERS

China will today release its foreign exchange reserves - the world's largest at US$3.20 trillion (S$43.25 trillion) at the end of February. Analysts expect the recent slide to continue, but on a smaller scale, as yuan stays relatively steady against the US dollar. Reserves have dropped around US$100 billion each month since November last year, with US$107.9 billion drop in December 2015 being the biggest monthly drop on record. Reserves stayed at their lowest level since December 2011. In Asia, Hong Kong, Japan and the Philippines are also expected to release their foreign exchange reserves data.

ECB Vice-President to present annual report

European Central Bank Vice-President Vitor Constancio is due to present the central bank's annual report in Brussels today. PHOTO: REUTERS

European Central Bank Vice-President Vitor Constancio is due to present the central bank's annual report to lawmakers in Brussels today, the same day the institution releases an account of last month's policy meeting, when officials expanded stimulus. The bank's quantitative easing isn't having the desired effect with consumer prices dropping by an annual 0.1 per cent in March, according to figures released last week, leaving the bank's 2 per cent inflation target a distant dream.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.