Source : Business Times - 26 Feb 2009
Singapore is the world leader in terms of innovation and competitiveness while South Korea ranks fifth and Japan ninth, according to a report released on Wednesday.
Other countries in the top 10 of the study by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) were Sweden (2), Luxembourg (3), Denmark (4), the United States (6), Finland (7), Britain (8) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region of Canada, Mexico and the United States (10).
Other Asia-Pacific region countries in the top 40 included Australia (19), China (33) and India (40). The 15 Western European countries in the European Union, the EU-15, ranked 18th.
The study by the ITIF, a non-partisan think-tank based in Washington, used 16 indicators in six key areas to come up with the rankings: human capital, innovation capacity, entrepreneurship, information technology infrastructure, economic policy factors and economic performance.
Measured differently, in terms of progress on the 16 indicators over the last decade, China topped the rankings, and the United States finished 40th, the ITIF said.
Singapore was second followed by Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Russia, Cyprus and Japan. India ranked 14th, South Korea 17th and Australia 32nd. The EU-15 region ranked 28th in terms of change since 1999.
“This study is based on the importance of benchmarking global competitiveness and innovation on a variety of factors, not simply policy factors or economic performance,” said ITIF president Rob Atkinson.
“In today’s global economy, it’s important to look at the competitiveness of the United States, Europe, Asia and the rest of the world based on a variety of factors - not just one.”
“We found that the United States performs well when compared to the rest of the world, leading Europe, but is not the runaway leader that some recent studies have found it to be,” Atkinson said.
The ITIF said that “if the EU-15 region as a whole continues to improve at this faster rate than the United States, it would surpass the United States in innovation-based competitiveness by 2020.”
“All of the 39 other countries and regions studied have made faster progress towards the new knowledge-based innovation economy in recent years than the United States,” it said.
The ITIF outlined “key policies that need to be pursued to turn around the decline in US innovation-based competitiveness.”
They included incentives for companies to innovate at home, being open to high-skill immigration, fostering a digital economy, supporting the kinds of institutions that are critical to innovation and ensuring that regulations and other related government policies support, not retard, innovation.
Source : Channel NewsAsia - 26 Feb 2009
Posted in All Singapore, General | Tagged: About Singapore, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation | No Comments »
CapitaLand pays S$46.75 mln for 60% more in Vietnam JV
Posted by luxuryasiahome on February 26, 2009
CapitaLand said it has acquired an additional 60 per cent of its Vietnamese joint venture company - CapitaLand-Hoang Thanh - from its partner Hoang Thanh for US$32.51 million.
The property group also said it has terminated joint venture agreements it entered into in 2007 with partner Azure City and a company affiliated to Azure City to develop a residential site located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam into a high-rise condominium and villa.
The agreements were terminated as the relevant government approvals have not been obtained by the joint venture partners. Thus, the intended joint venture companies have not been incorporated, CapitaLand said.
The developers stake in CapitaLand-Hoang Thanh, on the other hand, was upped from 10 per cent to 70 per cent. CapitaLand-Hoang Thanh has therefore become an indirect subsidiary of CapitaLand. The remaining 30 per cent interest is held by Hoang Thanh Company.
The principal activities of CapitaLand-Hoang Thanh are that of property investment and development and project management. CapitaLand-Hoang Thanh owns a parcel of land of 24,466 square metres in the Mo Lao New Urban Area of Hanoi, which will be developed into residential apartments.
The acquisition price was arrived at on a willing-buyer willing-seller basis, taking into account, among other factors, the net tangible assets of CapitaLand-Hoang Thanh of US$54.19 million.
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