Overview
- Senior officials concluded a two‑day plenum in Hanoi that finalized nominees for top posts, but no names were announced in keeping with party practice.
- Two briefed sources told AFP the party endorsed To Lam to remain general secretary, with one saying he will also be nominated for the presidency, a move SCMP says would still face congress and parliamentary approval.
- Formal leadership selections and policy outlines are scheduled for the five‑yearly party congress from January 19 to 25.
- Lam has driven sweeping changes, cutting ministries and agencies from 30 to 22 and prompting roughly 147,000 redundancies while accelerating infrastructure plans and expanding police influence in policymaking and business.
- Investors are betting on continuity, with Vietnam’s stock market rising on speculation that Lam’s position is secure, even as analysts note internal jockeying between security‑aligned and military‑linked factions.