Companies are spending record amounts in research and development, the Financial Times reported, and a big chunk of that money is going to Asia. A scoreboard of R&D spending by the UK Department of Industry shows European companies spent 5.6% more on R&D in 2005-6 than the year before, US companies hiked their spending by 15.4% but Asian companies saw the most significant increase. A group of 44 Taiwanese companies surveyed increased spending by an average of 30.5% and 17 South Korean companies spent 11.9% more. The increase in Asia is in part being driven by a move towards more open innovation which is seeing companies work with a larger number of outside partners and setting up new R&D centres in India and China.