BANGKOK -- Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday approved the second phase of the high-speed rail project that will connect the Southeast Asian country with China through Laos, with completion expected in 2030.

Spanning five stations, the 357-km second phase of the railway will extend an under-construction segment linking the Thai capital Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima province to Nong Khai at the border with Laos, said Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub. (Thailand-China-Rail)

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SINGAPORE -- Singapore recorded 16.5 million visitor arrivals in 2024, a 21 percent increase from 2023, reaching approximately 86.4 percent of the 2019 level, according to data released by the Singapore Tourism Board on Tuesday.

Tourists were also spending more, with tourism receipts projected to range between 27.5 billion Singapore dollars (about 20 billion U.S. dollars) and 29 billion Singapore dollars, potentially setting a new record. The final figures for 2024's tourism receipts will be released in the second quarter of 2025. (Singapore-Tourism)

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KUALA LUMPUR -- Chinese-developed artificial intelligence (AI) models, such as the recently unveiled DeepSeek-R1, a new open-source model developed by Chinese startup DeepSeek, will strengthen Malaysia's drive to become a regional data center hub, Juwai IQI said on Tuesday.

For the real estate industry here in Malaysia, this means that demand for land suitable for data centers will remain strong and could possibly grow, Juwai IQI Group Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kashif Ansari said in a statement. (Malaysia-Data Center)

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MANILA -- The Philippines' debt increased to 16.05 trillion pesos (275.4 billion U.S. dollars) as of the end-2024, 9.8 percent higher than the debt incurred in end-2023, the Philippines' Bureau of Treasury said Tuesday.

"The year-on-year increase in the debt stock is primarily attributed to the 1.31 trillion pesos (roughly 22.5 billion dollars) net issuance of debt instruments in line with the government's deficit program, as well as 208.73 billion pesos (3.58 billion dollars) valuation effect of U.S. dollar strengthening, albeit advantageous third currency movements significantly trimmed the debt total by 80.74 billion pesos (1.38 billion dollars)," the bureau said. (Philippines-Debt)

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HANOI -- Vietnam welcomed about 12.5 million domestic tourists during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday, a surge of 19 percent compared to the same period last year, the country's National Authority of Tourism has reported.

Eight localities reported tourism revenues exceeding 1 trillion Vietnamese dong (39.4 million U.S. dollars), namely Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Quang Ninh, Lao Cai and Ninh Binh. (Vietnam-Tourists)

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HONG KONG -- Investors in Hong Kong's stock market greeted the second trading day of the Year of the Snake with much optimism, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index surging more than 3 percent during the morning session on Tuesday.

The Hang Seng Tech Index, which represents the 30 largest technology companies listed in Hong Kong, rallied over 5 percent. Carmakers were among the biggest winners, with the shares of electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng jumping over 14 percent. (Hong Kong-Stocks) Enditem

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