R&D spending in Singapore increased 26.5% to SGD 6,339 million ($4,370 million), or 2.61% of GDP, according to a survey by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Experimental development, applied research and basic research accounted for 58%, 25% and 17% of R&D expenditures, respectively. Engineering and technology represented 65% of R&D expenditures, while biomedical and related sciences represented 17%. Private sector spending rose 28.6% to SGD 4,235 to make up 67% of total R&D expenditures. Private sector spending was driven by the manufacturing sector, of which electronics accounts for 73.1% of R&D spending. R&D spending by biomedical and related sciences and biomedical engineering rose 3.8% to SGD 1,144 million. Within the service sector, R&D spending rose 16% to SGD 1,076 million, with R&D services accounting for 38.9% of the total. R&D expenditures by the public sector grew 22.6% to SGD 1,246 million. Government, research institutes and higher education represented 36.6%, 34.7% and 28.7% of R&D spending, respectively.

Source: A*STAR