Iran Railway Company says rail freight with Afghanistan has risen from under 15,000 tonnes a year to about 130,000 tonnes a month and expects annual throughput to reach roughly 1.5 mln tonnes.

Alibaba (09988.HK) said it plans a Hong Kong placement of new shares totaling HKD 80 billion.

Anhui provincial local financial management bureau and provincial culture and tourism department jointly issued Several Measures to Support Financial Development of the Culture and Tourism Industry, a 15-point package to build a tailored financial services system and promote culture and tourism as a pillar sector. Measures explicitly back cultural and tourism firms' listings, refinancing and M&A; encourage equipment renewal via finance leases and offer interest subsidies for qualifying culture and tourism equipment lease financing; and support using ABS, REITs and institutional REITs to unlock existing assets. The package also aims to optimize the financial ecosystem by enhancing tourism consumer finance services and improving payment infrastructure at cultural and tourism venues.