Staff picks: 7 top news stories this week on Tech in Asia

Missed out on this week’s Asia tech news? We’ve got you covered. Here are our top picks from the past seven days.

Steven’s and Vanessa’s pick: Xiaomi’s first batch of phones in Singapore sells out in under 8 minutes

Steven: Xiaomi took the first of its two Android-powered smartphones to Singapore this week, where it met with strong demand. But its flash sale method of selling also created some frustration. Xiaomi has its new international HQ in Singapore, and we can expect the Chinese phone-maker to expand across Asia sometime this year.

Vanessa: I was one of the folks who logged into Xiaomi Singapore’s homepage at 11:58 AM today in the hope of getting a Redmi. Unfortunately, as I proceeded for checkout, the two words “sold out” were glaring back at me, and yes, I was frustrated. They will also be announcing the next sales announcement this Saturday on its Facebook page, so let’s see.

Josh’s pick: WeChat will soon allow celebrities and media to rake in money from ads

China’s most popular messaging app opens up yet another opportunity to bring in revenues.

Saiyai’s pick: Bank of Thailand says country’s top Bitcoin exchange can resume operations

After six months of being known as an “illegal” currency, it’s good news that now we can trade Bitcoins in Thailand, although only in Thai Baht.

Andre’s pick: Report: 30 million of Indonesia’s internet users are teenagers

Currently, Indonesia has 74.6 million internet users and growing and half of them are in their teenage years. Good data points for startups and companies aiming at Indonesia’s mobile apps market in 2014.

Phoebe’s pick: Philippines’ Cybercrime Law now in effect, punishing online libel is constitutional

The Philippines waited two years for the decision on the legality of the Cybercrime Law. Now its causing controversy due to the online libel clause. Will it clamp down online freedom among citizens?

Terence’s pick: Singapore to give local companies even more money to adopt new tech