SINGAPORE - Singapore has been ranked the world's second and Asia's top country for intellectual property (IP) protection by the World Economic Forum's (WEF) in its latest Global Competitiveness Report.
A total of 148 countries were assessed for the report, which also found that Singapore remained the second most competitive economy in the world.
This is the third consecutive year that the city-state has been named the top in Asia for IP protection.
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) said in a statement that Singapore's business-friendly IP regime has bolstered business confi dence of international conglomerates, such as Rolls - Royce, Proctor and Gamble, Bayer, Nestle, 3M and DHL to choose Singapore for long-term investments in R&D and innovation.
At the recent China-ASEAN Expo, China and Singapore agreed to collaborate on the existing ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement and the development of China's intellectual property rights environment.
The WEF report was not the only one which ranked Singapore's IP protection highly. Property Rights Alliance's Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Index 2012 also ranked Singapore fourth in the world in terms of IPR. Singapore was placed at the top of the list in Asia, alongside Japan. Both countries were the only Asian countries in the top 10 list under IPR.
Mr Tan Yih San, Chief Executive of the IPOS , said: "This recognition will go in some ways to encourage and attract greater knowledge creation and innovation as Singapore progresses to be a knowledge-driven economy."
