American consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) has inked a pact with Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) to carry out research partnerships with local institutions for five years.

The Master Research Collaboration Agreement will provide for up to $60 million in joint funding and will pair P&G with more than 25 Singapore research, medical and educational institutions, A*Star said in a statement on Thursday.

It is an extension of a similar agreement that the two parties signed in 2010, and covers a broader range of activities than the earlier pact.

For instance, P&G will now be able to access research services and facilities at Biopolis and Fusionopolis, Singapore's research hubs. The partnership also allows for industry-relevant PhD programmes and post-doctoral fellowships

This tie-up is one of P&G's largest research collaborations with the public sector and comes under the company's Connect+Develop programme.

It "will marry P&G's deep consumer understanding with A*Star's state-of-the-art knowledge in multi-disciplinary sciences", the agency said.

P&G said A*Star "has proven to be a leading-edge innovation partner across several segments of our business and upstream research work".

"Expanding our partnership allows P&G to more fully leverage the unique innovation capabilities at A*Star and its network of research institutions," said Ms Laura Becker, head of P&G Connect+Develop.

P&G is soon due to open its Singapore Innovation Centre in Biopolis, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.