Brussels, 21/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - Figures reveal that there has been a rise in investment by European companies in research and development (R&D) for the third consecutive year, outpacing the private sector in the United States in R&D investment growth. The 2008 Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, published on Wednesday 15 October, shows that R&D investment by European companies rose by 8.8%, compared with 7.4% last year. At the same time, investment by US companies fell from 13.3% to 8.6%. EU companies have almost closed the gap in R&D growth rate compared to all non-EU companies, the Commission says in a press release. “However, private sector R&D in Europe remains at 1% of GDP, amidst signs that EU companies are making an increasing share of their R&D investments outside Europe,” noted European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potoènik. “Therefore, we must continue our efforts to make Europe a more attractive place for business R&D, notably by creating a truly European Research Area, in order to reach the Lisbon objectives,” he went on. The scoreboard shows that Microsoft is the world's largest investor in R&D with €5.6 billion, ahead of General Motors and Pfizer. Three EU companies feature in the top ten: Nokia in 5th place (up from 17th), with an R&D investment of €5.3 billion, Volkswagen in 9th (up from 14th) and Daimler in 10th (down from 5th). Trends show increased sales and profitability for EU companies. (B.C./transl.rt)