Thais are expected to spend approximately 5.2 billion THB (145.6 million USD) this year during Makha Bucha Day and Valentine’s Day.

Vietnamese tourists continue to have a strong passion for travel, valuing precious time spent with friends and family, according to digital travel platform’s latest study.

Thai people’s spending on the occasion of New Year celebration this year will increase slightly compared to the same period last year, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).

More people are expected to travel during the long Songkran holiday this year than last year but they will be more cautious in their spending, due to the higher cost of living and indebtedness, according to a survey conducted by the Economic and Business Forecast Centre of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).

Thailand has announced a new tax refund scheme to stimulate domestic spending and encourage the use of electronic invoices.

Despite welcoming 20 million foreign tourists in the first nine months of the year, Thailand’s tourism industry has not seen a significant economic boost, due to global economic concerns and a high level of household debt.

Vietnam ranks second in Southeast Asia in the number of app downloads with 3.5 billion downloads last year, according to data analytics firm Data.ai.

Thailand's Ministry of Finance is preparing to roll out new measures to encourage spending in a bid to maintain the country’s economic recovery, said Pornchai Thiraveja, Director-General of the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO).

An estimated 18 million international tourists visited Vietnam in 2019, but their spending in the country remained low, which is a challenge to the tourism sector. Night-time services and products could be the key answer to the issue.

The National Assembly has issued a resolution on State budget estimates for 2019, in which total State budget collection will likely reach over 1.411 quadrillion VND (60.67 billion USD), while the total spending will hit more than 1.633 quadrillion VND.

Consumer loans have increased sharply in Ho Chi Minh City in recent years, said Nguyen Hoang Minh, Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s HCM City Branch.

Vietnam ranks the fifth most optimistic country globally with an index score of 117 in the latest Consumer Confidence Index released by Nielsen, its highest score in the past five years and up five points from the last quarter of 2016.

The Republic of Korea is expected to face difficulties in achieving an annual economic growth of 3 percent this year, experts have said.

The National Assembly heard reports on State budget balance and audit in 2015 by government members during a working session in Hanoi on May 22, under the chair of NA Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien.

Indonesia’s defence budget in 2017 is likely to be much lower than proposed by the government despite plans to establish military bases in Natuna, Riau Islands.

Brunei's Ministry of Defence has mobilised a defence budget of 564 million Brunei dollars (409 million USD ) for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, a 4.7 percent increase year-on-year.

Ho Chi Minh City collected nearly 280 trillion VND (12.6 billion USD) to the local budget in 2015, surpassing the yearly estimate by 5.04 percent and posting an annual increase of 10.7 percent.

Singapore’s general election last month cost candidates more than 7.1 million SGD or 5 million USD, the country’s media reported on October 29.