The EDB, Singapore's main investment promotion agency, expects fixed asset investments in manufacturing to reach around S$8-8.5 billion (US$4.9-5.2 billion; €4-4.2 billion) in 2006 compared with S$8.5 billion in 2005, the group's chairman, Teo Ming Kian, said.

But companies engaged in nonfinancial services are expected to boost their Singapore operations at a faster pace, with pledged total business spending likely to rise to S$2.5-2.7 billion (US$1.5-1.6 billion; €1.2-1.3 billion) this year from S$2.4 billion (US$1.4 billion; €1.2 billion) in 2005.

The agency is responsible for most investments into Singapore with financial services, which come under the Monetary Authority of Singapore, being the main exception.

According to the EDB, investment commitments made in 2005 would contribute S$10.8 billion (US$6.65 billion; €5.44 billion) annually to Singapore's S$190 billion (US$117 billion; €95.7 billion) gross domestic product when fully implemented.

Of this, S$6.4 billion (US$3.9 billion; €3.2 billion) would be derived from manufacturing projects and S$4.4 billion (US$2.7 billion; €2.2 billion) from services projects promoted by EDB.

The investments made in 2005 will eventually create 26,000 jobs, Teo said.

"Investments in our established major industries such as electronics, chemicals and engineering continued to grow. They are still very important to us," Teo said.

"We are also seeing progress in new areas we had earlier identified for development such as digital media, intellectual property management and arbitration," he added.

Other promising industries included industrial biotechnology, alternative energy, and minerals, metals and materials, Teo said, citing a joint venture tin purification plant that will eventually process 10 percent of the world's tin.

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