The Nanyang Technological University has retained its second spot in a ranking released on Thursday of the top 50 universities under 50 years old.

It was ranked second in the same ranking last year, conducted by London-based educational consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

Mr Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, said as the ranking focus only on the performance of younger institutions, it "aims to spot the up-and-coming higher education powerhouses in the global arena."

Of the top 10 universities in the ranking, the top five are Asian institutions.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology came in tops, while at third place is the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea. City University of Hong Kong came in fourth, while South Korea's Pohang University of Science and Technology was in fifth position.

Australia however, had eight institutions featured in the list - the highest, of the 27 countries represented.

NTU president Bertil Anderson said the ranking is a "prediction of the young universities to watch out for."

"With the rise of Asia, it is no surprise that the top 5 are all from Asia. NTU retained the second place in the world and Singaporeans can be very proud that internationally, NTU is flying the Singapore flag high," he said.

But Mr Sowter added that while Asian institutions "may dominate the top of the list now, Australia's many young institutions may close the gap shortly."