SINGAPORE : Singapore last year spent S$5 billion, nearly 2.4 per cent of the GDP, on research and development (R&D), according to the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

The agency said R&D activities in Singapore have intensified last year, and it is confident Singapore is on the way to meet its target of setting aside three per cent of expenditure for R&D by 2010.

The gross domestic expenditure on R&D also continued to outpace GDP growth of 8.1% in 2006, increasing by 9.3 per cent to S$5.01 billion.

Private sector expenditure in R&D went up by 9 per cent from S$3 billion in 2005 to S$3.29 billion last year, with the manufacturing sector continuing to drive the expansion.

Within the manufacturing sector, biomedical sciences manufacturing was the largest source of growth.

On the human capital front, the research talent base also continued to expand.

The manpower pool of research scientists went up by six per cent to 26,436, with those pursuing PhDs showing the fastest growth at nine per cent, from 4,500 in 2005 to 5,000 in 2006.

The private sector also saw an increase in the number of researchers to 13,893 in 2006.

With greater investment into R&D and an expanding pool of research talent, patenting activities also trended upwards.

Patent applications grew 28 per cent to 2,036 in 2006, while patent awards grew six per cent to 933 last year.

The private sector accounted for over three-quarters of the patent applications.

R&D expenditure per patent application, which is a measure of patenting efficiency, has improved from S$2.9 million per patent application in 2005 to S$2.5 million per patent application in 2006.

Comparing Singapore's R&D intensity internationally, the Republic's achievements are above that of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average, but below that of the US, Germany and Japan.

But when compared with the small advanced countries, Singapore is ahead of Ireland and Belgium, and is approaching the current level of Denmark.

A*STAR said in the years ahead, Singapore would need more research talent, and it expects the demand for highly trained PhD manpower to continue to grow as Singapore moves into a knowledge- and innovation-driven economy.

More than 900 organisations, including private sector enterprises, government organisations and universities, took part in the survey. - CNA/ac