RPT-UPDATE 3-Singapore Deputy PM Wong to lead ruling party before general election -PM

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday said he will hand leadership of the ruling People's Action Party to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as soon as the party's 70th anniversary in November 2024, a year before an election is due. The party is widely expected to extend its dominance of a nation it has ruled since independence in 1965, meaning Wong is likely to become the next – and Singapore's fourth – premier. Lee is the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, who is widely credited as establishing modern Singapore.