Local actress Yvonne Lim, 40, had her good pals - fellow actresses Hong Huifang and Zoe Tay - flying to Taipei to give her support when she gave birth to a daughter in Taipei last Friday afternoon.

Her Taiwanese businessman husband Alex Tien, 37, told The Straits Times that the two actresses are helping to look after Lim at a Taipei hospital while he takes care of the couple's two-year-old son, Alex Junior.

He said over the telephone from Taipei on Friday: "Huifang and Zoe are really thoughtful. They flew to Taiwan last night to accompany Yvonne. We knew she was about due after the new year, so Huifang made plans to come over. Zoe came along as a surprise."

He heaved a sigh of relief after mother and child were safe following a Caesarean birth.

The newborn, who has been named Alexa, weighed 3.4kg, and according to Tien, she looks like "a delicate version of my son".

Although their daughter's name sounds like it was derived from his, Tien is quick to highlight that his wife came up with the moniker.

Tien, a former member of Taiwanese boyband B.A.D, and Lim married in 2014. Lim, whose last Channel 8 drama was Blessings in 2014, has been based in Taipei since the marriage.