The Friday issue of the FT reported increases in R&D expenditure both in the industrial sector and at the EU.

It was reported that the world’s 300 largest companies have increased their spending by around 12% for two years running, to reach a total of US$ 245 bn in 1998. UK Department of Trade and Industry figures published last week, showed that in the top twenty, the US were in the lead, followed by Japan with Germany and Sweden respectively as the main European contenders.

John Van Reenen, economics professor at University College London, was reported as saying, "the figures showed not only the growing pace of change in science and technology but also the trend for companies to seek competitive advantage through investment in intangibles such as research rather than in machines and equipment."

The three biggest individual R&D spenders are the automobile giants, General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler. The information technology sector has the largest overall increase in spending 23 per cent for hardware companies and 20 per cent for software and services.

Energy R&D spending lags behind. In the British top 50, only Shell, BP Amoco, BG and National Power represented the energy industry. There were less representatives in the International Top 50.

The FT notes also that the EU's Fifth Framework Programme gets under way. "This will pump Euros 15bn (Dollars 15.8bn) over four years into collaborative science and technology projects involving companies and universities across Europe. The budget is 4.6 per cent higher than for Framework Four, which wound up last year. At the same time, Framework Five has a more streamlined management structure and is designed to focus funds more closely on the ‘major socio-economic problems facing Europe’".

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