South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics topped the world's research and development spending list in 2017.<br />This is the *first time that a Korean company has taken the top spot.... since data was first compiled in 2004.<br />Yoon Jung-min has this story. <br />Samsung Electronics spent more money on research and development than any other company in the world last year.<br />According to the 2018 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, the South Korean tech giant invested more than 15 billion U.S. dollars in R&D in 2017.<br />That amounts to an eleven-and-a-half percent increase compared to the previous year.<br />Samsung was followed in the rankings by Google's holding company Alphabet, German auto giant Volkswagen, Microsoft and Chinese tech firm Huawei. <br /><br />Samsung Electronics might have outmatched its rivals when it comes to total R&D spending, but its 7.2% ratio of R&D spending to revenue was lower than rivals Intel, which spent 20.9% on R&D, and Huawei, which spent 14.7% of its revenue on R&D.<br /><br />South Korea's LG Electronics came 53rd in the rankings with nearly 3 billion dollars of R&D spending.<br />Chipmaker SK hynix climbed 16 places to 67th in the rankings,... and Hyundai Motor moved up four spots to 73rd.<br />Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News. <br />
