China and India are coming up fast as tech powers though a big gap still exists between these emerging markets and developed nations. That gap is bound to narrow over the next decade. Photo: Tsinghua Science Park, site of our Silicon Dragon Beijing program May 25: http://siliconasiainvest.com/2011Events.aspx
A new Global Information Technology Report by the World Economic Forum predicts that these two powerhouses will drive much of the growth in information technology over the next ten years. Out of 138 countries tracked and ranked by widespread use of mobile phones, Internet, personal computer as well as regulatory environment and IT infrastructure, China ranks 36th and India 48th. Among other high-scoring Asian countries, Singapore excelled in second place while Taiwan checked in at sixth, Korea came in at 10th and Hong Kong as 12th.
Take venture capital investment as another indicator of this balance of power tech shift. Last year, China and India accounted for 13 percent of the $37.7 billion poured into startup and emerging companies globally, according to Dow Jones Venture Source. For 2010, China investment was up 59 percent to $4 billion while India weighed in with a 14 percent increase to $895 million – higher than the 11 percent spike for the U.S. to $26.2 billion.
Patent applications are another trend pointer. Over the past four years, quick gains by emerging Asian nations have put this region at more than one-third of the word’s patent filings, statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organization show.
See my post in Forbes for more:
http://blogs.forbes.com/rebeccafannin/2011/04/15/tick-tock-goes-the-tech-clock-as-china-india-close-gap/
