Land Boundary of JS-SEZ, and Incentives and Distinct Value of SEZ to Singapore Companies
Ministry of Trade and IndustrySpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the land boundary, investment incentives, and distinct value of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) to Singapore firms, raised by Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong stated that the JS-SEZ spans 3,588 square kilometres across the Iskandar Development Region and Pengerang. He highlighted Malaysian initiatives, including the Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre Johor and special corporate tax rates for qualifying manufacturing and services. He added that Singapore supports firms via the Market Readiness Assistance Grant, Enterprise Financing Scheme, and a joint JS-SEZ Project Office. Ultimately, the JS-SEZ enables a twinning model leveraging combined regional strengths to generate economic value.
Transcript
111 Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) (a) what is the precise land boundary of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ); (b) in view of Malaysia's revised New Incentive Framework effective 1 March 2026, what incentives do Singapore companies investing in the JS-SEZ receive over and above this federal framework; and (c) whether the JS-SEZ retains distinct value for Singapore firms.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: The Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) spans an area of 3,588 square kilometres, which includes the Iskandar Development Region and Pengerang.1 Information on the JS-SEZ's boundaries is publicly available.
Beyond Malaysia's New Incentive Framework, Malaysia had earlier announced initiatives to support companies investing in the JS-SEZ. These include the establishment of the Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre Johor as a one-stop centre to facilitate investments and provide end-to-end support for companies; and a suite of incentives that provides a special corporate tax rate to firms investing in qualifying manufacturing and services activities.
The Singapore Government supports Singapore companies' internationalisation, including to the JS-SEZ, via the Market Readiness Assistance Grant and the Enterprise Financing Scheme. We have also set up the JS-SEZ Project Office, a joint outfit of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Enterprise Singapore and the Economic Development Board, to support Singapore companies interested in exploring opportunities in the JS-SEZ.
The JS-SEZ enables firms to adopt a twinning model that taps on the combined offerings of Singapore and Johor. For example, Agrocorp, a Singapore agri-commodities and food ingredient company, expanded its downstream capabilities in plant protein extraction by establishing a new plant in Johor with its Japanese partner. The plant will use a protein extraction technology developed by Agrocorp and the Singapore Institute of Technology. Investments like these in Johor have helped our firms grow and generate value for the Singapore economy.