International news media have reported on Friday that the names of Ivanka Trump, daughter of US President Donald Trump, and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley are being considered as possible US candidates to replace outgoing World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

Most news outlets such as Business Insider, South China Morning Post and The Independent, published the news quoting news agency AFP in this regard.

The speculations have come up after Kim abruptly announced Monday he was cutting short his tenure as the bank's president more than three years before his second term was due to end.

On Friday, The Financial Times reported that in addition to Trump and Haley, who stepped down as US Ambassador to the United Nations last month, other names being floated include Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs David Malpass and Mark Green, head of the US Agency for International Development.

Meanwhile, The Guardian ran a report on the same issue under the headline: 'Ridiculous': report Ivanka Trump could lead World Bank meets scorn.

The Guardian quoted The Financial Times as reporting on Friday that the name of Ivanka Trump is “floating around Washington” regarding the need for a new president of the World Bank.

“Of all the people in US who could be World Bank President,” tweeted California Congressman Ted Lieu, sarcastically, “the most qualified is Ivanka Trump, who lost her fashion line & happens to be the daughter of @POTUS. I see.”

Kim was the first American nominee to face a contested election for the World Bank presidency in 2012 and the bank's board has said its selection process will be "open, merit-based and transparent," implying non-US candidates would not be ruled out.

The World Bank Board said Thursday it would start accepting nominations for a new leader early next month and name a replacement for Kim by mid-April, reports AFP.