30-04-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
JS-SEZ to bolster Asean supply chain, drive regional innovation
KUALA LUMPUR: The Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) is poised to play a key role in enhancing Asean's supply chain efficiency and resilience, thanks to its strategic location, said CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd.
Seen as a key driver of Asean's shift from globalised to regionally integrated supply chains, the JS-SEZ is expected to transform Malaysia and Singapore from conventional manufacturing centres into thriving hubs of innovation and technology.
CIMB Securities noted that 80 per cent of Johor's approved investments in 2024 were located within the JS-SEZ, including RM23 billion worth of new projects recorded in April 2025 alone—building on the RM27.4 billion in investments secured during the first quarter of the year.
"About 560 investment schemes from over 700 projects approved for Johor by the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) in 2024 were in the JS-SEZ.
"Of these, more than 50 projects are in the high-value, high-growth sectors, such as medical and semiconductor industries," it said in a note after attending the JS-SEZ joint business and investment forum on April 21-22.
To accelerate development, CIMB Securities said Malaysia established the Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre-Johor (IMFC-J), cutting investment lead times by 10 months. Singapore, meanwhile, has formed a joint agency to aid company expansion into the zone.
The firm also highlighted the importance of accelerating infrastructure development in the region, including the JB-Singapore RTS Link, which is expected to launch by end-2026, and the upcoming Johor e-ART transit system that is drawing strong investor interest.
CIMB Securities noted that property and construction players such as Sunway, IJM, UEM Sunrise and Mah Sing are set to benefit.
Sunway, for instance, is developing an RM2.6 billion transit-oriented development near the Bukit Chagar RTS station.
Meanwhile, UEM Sunrise and GuocoLand's memorandum of understanding could unlock the long-term value of UEM Sunrise's development pipeline in Johor, particularly the group's industrial land bank.
According to the firm, UEM Sunrise is building a 16-hectare renewable energy park at its proposed industrial park in Precinct 2 of Gerbang Nusajaya.
At Sunway City Iskandar Puteri, the first warehouse at the carbon-neutral Equalbase Sunway 103 commercial zone, with an indicative gross development value of RM8 billion, is already under construction.
"In our view, these sustainable-friendly initiatives are in tandem with Malaysia's aspirations to promote green industrial parks that supply renewable energy, for which roughly 100 companies are keen to lend their expertise," CIMB Securities added.
To retain and attract talent, the firm said an attractive income tax rate of 15 per cent over 10 years is offered for knowledge workers employed in the JS-SEZ.
This forms part of the Johor government's efforts to fill the 100,000 quality jobs expected to be curated under the JS-SEZ, in addition to offering attractive starting salaries of RM4,000–5,000 a month.
