Vladimir Putin is considering selling part of Russia’s corporate crown jewels to China and India as the president struggles to meet spending commitments before his possible re-election bid in less than two years. Russia is seeking buyers for 19.5 percent of state oil champion Rosneft OJSC and would prefer a joint deal with the two nations leading the growth in global energy demand, two people familiar with the matter said. Officials in Moscow expect to raise at least 700 billion rubles ($11 billion) from the sale, which would set a privatization record for the country. Bringing two of Asia’s three largest economies into Rosneft, which pumps more crude than Exxon Mobil Corp., would help Putin cover budget shortfalls while strengthening his geopolitical hand at a time when conflicts in Ukraine and Syria have driven relations with the U.S. and Europe to a post-Cold War low. It would also balance […]