In Vietnam, former security chief To Lam's appointment as president will limit his influence over the government's sweeping anti-corruption drive, which will likely slow in the near term, easing political infighting and business uncertainty. However, Lam is still primed to take over the country's top political role in 2026, which would erode Vietnam's investment environment by portending more official scrutiny and monitoring of foreign entities. On May 22, Vietnam's rubber-stamp parliament elected former Minister of Public Security To Lam as state president. The appointment marked the second elevation to one of Vietnam's top four leadership positions and the third major promotion in the span of a week, with Tran Thanh Man elected National Assembly Chair on May 20 and Luong Cuong elected as Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) Secretariat on May 16. In a corresponding move, the National Assembly also voted to remove Lam from his prior position as minister of...
