[Photo] Samsung Electronics world’s top R&D spender

Of all the world’s major firms, Samsung Electronics invests the most in research and development (R&D), according to European Commission’s 2018 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. The South Korean electronics giant spent about US$15.23 billion on R&D last year. Among other South Korean companies, LG came in 53rd place, SK Hynix came in 67th and Hyundai Motor came in 73rd. The data was based on figures for the fiscal year of 2017. Alphabet, the parent company for Google, came in second place; Volkswagen came in third; Microsoft placed fourth; and Huawei placed fifth.