The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme has received 2,996 applications from 100 places, Secretary for Education Michael Suen says.

He today told lawmakers 189 of the applications, or 6.3%, came from developed countries and economies.

Twenty-nine were submitted by Singaporean students while 26 came from Taiwan. The number of applications from the US, Germany and the UK was 21, 18 and 15.

In the 2009-10 academic year, 1,177 local and 3,148 non-local students enrolled in University Grants Committee-funded PhD programmes.