Singapore has shot up the innovation rankings. Guess what happened to Hong Kong

The city state’s rise against global peers in the Bloomberg Innovation Index was underpinned by stronger showings in productivity and patent activity

Vietnam tied Singapore for the most-improved title in the region, while Malaysia and Hong Kong each fell one spot

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Singapore’s rise against global peers was underpinned by stronger showings in productivity. Photo: Handout

Published: 12:30pm, 21 Jan 2020Updated: 12:37pm, 21 Jan 2020

Singapore leapt three spots to reclaim its No 3 rank in the 2020 Bloomberg Innovation Index, while economies across Asia-Pacific showed a mixed picture of progress.

After a six-year streak at the top, South Korea was unseated from its best-in-world spot by Germany – but only just. Japan and New Zealand were among those losing ground in innovation against global peers, while Vietnam showed a big gain.

Singapore’s rise against global peers was underpinned by stronger showings in productivity and patent activity, while the city state also retained a world-beating ranking in tertiary efficiency. For the latter category, Bloomberg’s rankings take into account factors such as graduation rates of first-degree earners and the share of the labour force that is made up of new science and engineering graduates.

Singapore’s high standing in the index speaks to its long-term focus on adapting to an ageing population, as well as a tighter labour market that is allowed for productivity gains, said David Mann, chief economist for Standard Chartered in Singapore.

“You cannot just try for a little while,” he said of policymakers struggling to innovate their economies. And for Singapore, “we see more in the pipeline with even more use of automation in multiple industries. There’s a lot that is on the way in that regard – and being willing to experiment” in industries including finance, he said.

Hong Kong fell one spot to No 39 in the 2020 Bloomberg Innovation Index. Photo: Reuters

The annual Bloomberg Innovation Index, in its eighth year, analyses dozens of criteria using seven metrics, including research and development spending, manufacturing capability and concentration of hi-tech public companies. The Index was released just before the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where innovation will be a key theme of meetings January 21-24.