Increasingly, intangible assets such as intellectual properties and their exploitation will be a significant source of competitive advantage in the Knowledge Economy.

To enhance Singapore's competitiveness in this respect, I have decided to improve the current incentive scheme relating to patents and know-how. The improved scheme extends the scope of coverage to more categories of intellectual properties. Writing down allowances over a 5-year period will be granted for capital expenditure incurred on the following categories of intellectual properties acquired on or after today:

This improved scheme will also cover a wider range of industries. It will be administered by EDB and IDA. Details will be released by them shortly.