[JOHOR BAHRU] A joint project office has been launched to support Singapore-based companies keen to expand into the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong on Monday (Apr 21).
The office, set up by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Economic Development Board, will complement Malaysia’s Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre – Johor, which was launched in February to help facilitate investments into the region.
It helps to forge new business partnerships through the agencies’ local networks; the office will also provide guidance on suitable support schemes for companies to adopt.
The announcement was made at the JS-SEZ Joint Business and Investment Forum in Johor Bahru, where DPM Gan addressed an audience of about 1,000 business and government leaders.
The forum was co-organised by MTI and Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry.
Calling the forum “both important and timely”, DPM Gan said it reflected how like-minded countries can collaborate even amid a “sharp rise in protectionism” around the world.
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He pointed to rising US-China trade tensions, with both sides imposing retaliatory tariffs.
US President Donald Trump has imposed a 145 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, with Beijing responding by levying a 125 per cent duty on US imports.
“These series of unilateral actions may also destabilise the existing rules-based, multilateral trading order,” DPM Gan warned. “If countries choose to trade with one another only on their own preferred terms, we will always be at a losing end and at the mercy of larger economies.”
Still, he noted that “in every crisis, there are opportunities”. The JS-SEZ, for instance, presents a chance for businesses to strengthen supply chains.
Companies could do this by expanding capacity into the JS-SEZ, developing new capabilities within the zone, or “twinning” their operations in both Singapore and Johor to tap complementary strengths of the two markets, DPM Gan said.
Among the examples he cited was Singapore-based agritech firm Archisen, which has partnered Malaysia’s FarmByte to develop a smart indoor vertical farm in Nusajaya Tech Park that will produce 300 tonnes of leafy vegetables annually.
He also pointed to Singapore-based Agrocorp’s partnership with Japan’s Megmilk Snow Brand to set up a plant-protein manufacturing facility in Tanjung Langsat, and South Korea’s SPC Group, which has sited its halal manufacturing plant in Johor, while establishing a regional headquarters and innovation centre in Singapore.
Three-pronged approach
To “enhance its value proposition”, the JS-SEZ will be strengthened in three key areas, DPM Gan said.
First, by simplifying clearance and customs procedures to improve the flow of goods and people across the Causeway.
Second, by improving the business ecosystem: streamlining approvals, investing in talent development, and providing a single touchpoint for businesses via the joint project office.
Third, by deepening economic partnerships with like-minded nations and blocs, such as within Asean and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“This way, both Singapore and Malaysia can further bridge our economies through the JS-SEZ and strengthen our supply chains, so that we can be more dynamic and resilient together, and continue to create good jobs for people of both countries and both regions across the Causeway,” he said.
