Johor-Singapore SEZ draws projects tied to 28,755 jobs

The Johor-Singapore Cooperation Ministerial Committee said in a joint statement on Monday that the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone recorded RM88.83 billion (S$28.1 billion) in approved investment from January 2025 to June 2026.

The approved pipeline is about 2.2 times the RM40.3 billion already implemented, according to Atlas360 calculations, with 12,796 jobs created so far versus 28,755 potential roles across all approved projects.

The figures give Singapore and Malaysia a first public investment scorecard for a zone intended to deepen cross-border trade, investment and movement of people and goods. The investments fall under the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, according to the joint statement.

Singapore’s Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat, Malaysia’s Minister of Economy YB Akmal Nasir, Singapore Senior Minister of State Sun Xueling and Johor chief minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi attended the committee’s first meeting at Gardens by the Bay.

“This is really the beginning of many more to come. We can only achieve this because we have been working very closely together as partners, reinforcing the pro-business environment that the Johor-Singapore SEZ is able to provide to investors,” Chee said after the meeting.

Akmal said both countries had agreed to hold a joint investment forum for the special economic zone by the first quarter of 2027. “So definitely, we want to keep up this good momentum, and definitely it will bring benefits to both nations, to the people, and to the business communities in these two regions,” he said.

The committee will include Malaysia’s economy minister, investment, trade and industry minister and Johor’s Menteri Besar, as well as Singapore’s national development minister, energy, trade and industry minister and transport minister.

Both governments said they remained committed to putting in place the institutional, regulatory and operational arrangements needed for the zone. They also cited support channels for companies, including Singapore’s JS-SEZ Project Office and Malaysia’s Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre – Johor.

The meeting took note of Malaysia’s Budget 2027 initiatives for the zone, including the Nexus Sedenak industrial and supply-chain hub, infrastructure and transport improvements, strategic investment facilitation and efforts to strengthen financial services in Forest City. “These initiatives complement bilateral efforts to enhance the JS-SEZ's competitiveness,” both countries said.

Approvals do not necessarily mean completed projects, and the committee’s figures show more than half the investment value has yet to be implemented. Public details cited by the committee did not include a sector-by-sector breakdown or a timetable for when the remaining approved projects would be realised.

The masterplan has also taken longer than first indicated. Its launch was initially planned for March, while Akmal said it would likely be launched by the end of this year, coinciding with the annual Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat.

Chee said the coming blueprint would set a medium- to longer-term plan for the special economic zone, but agencies still needed to work through initiatives on talent, trade, transport and cross-border movement. He said both sides were also looking at connectivity, including enhanced cross-border taxi services and the RTS Link, which is due to begin operations in February next year.

Akmal said the masterplan is likely to be launched by the end of 2026, coinciding with the annual Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat. Both countries agreed to hold a joint investment forum for the special economic zone by the first quarter of 2027, Akmal said. Chee said the RTS Link is due to come into operation in February 2027, adding to cross-border connectivity between Singapore and Johor.