Everything you need to know about the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone

Malaysia and Singapore have kicked off the long-awaited Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). Here's what's been agreed so far.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on 11 January 2024 to develop the JS-SEZ plans. Almost a year later, on 6 January 2025, Malaysia's Minister of Economy Rafizi Ramli and Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong signed the formal agreement — though it isn't final yet, with an official version expected by Q3 2025.

Both governments have committed to attracting 100 projects over 10 years, aiming to create 20,000 skilled jobs within the zone. They'll jointly promote and facilitate investment across 11 economic sectors from third countries and expanding Singaporean companies, support renewable energy project development to accelerate cross-border RE trading, and cooperate on movement of people and goods, talent development, and ease of doing business.

The zone's flagship areas

Spanning 357,128 hectares, the JS-SEZ covers the Iskandar development region plus three additional areas: Johor Bahru City Centre, Iskandar Puteri, Tanjung Pelepas-Tanjung Bin, Pasir Gudang, Senai-Skudai and Sedenak, Forest City, Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC), and Desaru. Each flagship zone is assigned lead sectors:

• Johor Bahru City Centre: business services, digital economy, health
• Iskandar Puteri: manufacturing, business services, digital economy, education, health, tourism
• Tg Pelepas-Tg Bin, Pasir Gudang and PIPC: manufacturing, energy, logistics
• Senai-Skudai: manufacturing, digital economy, education, logistics, tourism
• Forest City: financial services, as a dedicated special financial zone
• Sedenak: the broadest mix — manufacturing, business services, digital economy, education, energy, food security, health, logistics, tourism
• Desaru: education, food security, health, tourism

Beyond these sectors, the JS-SEZ also targets new priority industries including aerospace, electrical and electronics, chemicals, medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

Fiscal incentives on offer

Rafizi Ramli said the incentive structure will be shaped by the zone's geographic potential, with Malaysia and Singapore designing their own fiscal incentives separately. Malaysia's package includes special corporate and personal income tax rates for new high-growth, high value-added investments within the JS-SEZ, alongside a dedicated infrastructure support fund; Singapore will design its own funding support to help Singaporean companies expand into the zone. Malaysia will also establish the Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre — Johor (IMFC-J) as a one-stop centre for investors and businesses in the JS-SEZ.

Source: New Straits Times