Singapore's R&D spending in 2012 falls slightly

Singapore's gross expenditure on research and development by both the public and private sectors dipped 2.7 percent year on year to 7.2 billion Singapore dollars ( 5.7 billion U.S. dollars) in 2012, according to the results of a latest survey released on Monday by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research. The city state's total R&D expenditure as a percentage of its gross domestic product was largely unchanged, from 2.2 percent to 2.1 percent. The R&D expenditure of local firms increased by 16 percent to 1.3 billion Singapore dollars in 2012. Large enterprises led the increase with their investment in R&D growing by over 30 percent to 753 million Singapore dollars. However, against a backdrop of slower economic growth in 2012, total private sector spending on research declined slightly from 4. 6 billion Singapore dollars in 2011 to 4.4 billion Singapore dollars in 2012. The Agency for Science, Technology and Research said short-term fluctuations are expected as R&D expenditure is dependent on macro- economic conditions and individual companies' investment decisions. Singapore's public expenditure on R&D held steady at 2.8 billion Singapore dollars in 2012. (1 U.S. dollar = 1.26 Singapore dollars)