Key contenders to replace Vietnam’s ousted president

FILE - Vietnam's President Nguyen Xuan Phuc arrives at the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, also known as APEC summit, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, the most senior member of the communist state’s government to be forced from his job after a series of high-profile corruption scandals for which he was held responsible. (Jack Taylor/Pool Photo via AP, File)

HANOI (Bloomberg): The race to fill one of Vietnam’s top four political positions has begun after Nguyen Xuan Phuc (pic) became the biggest name yet to fall in an anti-corruption campaign led by conservative ideologues in the Communist Party.

Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong is purging key officials - including some well known to foreign investors - as he touts the need to clean up the party’s image inside Vietnam.