Opportunities for Business, Jobs, Tourism and Leisure from Proposed Establishment of Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone

1 Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Minister for Trade and Industry in light of the proposed establishment of a Johor-Singapore special economic zone, what opportunities relating to business, jobs, tourism and leisure are expected to be realised from this collaboration.

The Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Low Yen Ling) (for the Minister for Trade and Industry): The proposed Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone has the potential to strengthen the excellent economic relationship between Singapore and Johor. A special task force has been set up to study the broad areas of collaboration. We will provide an update on its progress at the 10th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat scheduled for later this year.

Mr Speaker: Ms Foo Mee Har.

Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast): Thank you, Speaker. I have two supplementary questions for the Minister of State. This is not the first time that Singapore has been involved in special economic zone development with other countries, having been involved in developing industrial spaces in Asia as early as the 1990s in China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

So, I would like to ask the Minister of State two questions. One, what lessons can be drawn from our previous experience to ensure positive outcomes for Singapore under the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone? Two, the success of special economic zones depends heavily on incentives, policy innovations and experimentation to attract businesses; so, I think it is important to know how we can ensure that the set-up of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone will not impact the competitiveness of Singapore’s own export sector.

Ms Low Yen Ling: Speaker, I want to thank the Member Ms Foo Mee Har for her two supplementary questions.

The second one is about our export competitiveness. Let me tackle that first. Ms Foo would agree that Singapore and Malaysia enjoy very strong bilateral ties. And when it comes to Singapore and Johor, this Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), the comparative advantages of both sides of the Causeway have attracted companies to set up complementary functions in Singapore and Johor to serve their regional and global operations as well as customers. I want to share with her and Members of the House that, in fact, the Singapore Economic Development Board, alongside our Malaysian counterparts, helped land some of these significant projects in Johor last year, after the COVID-19 measures were lifted. Allow me to quote one example, in the interest of time.

For example, we worked with SPC Group to have a cold chain, halal-certified factory in Nusajaya Tech Park (NTP) to allow them to produce 100 items, such as bread, cakes and desserts, to supply to Paris Baguette outlets in Southeast Asian countries. I think we are quite familiar with this brand. This particular company hires more than 300 staff in Singapore. This is a good example to show how, by leveraging the comparative advantage on both sides of the Causeway, we are able to complement our collective value proposition. So, on the second supplementary question, we look forward to the prospects to strengthen the nexus with Johor to foster closer economic cooperation and the chance to explore areas of synergies to benefit both our countries and peoples.

As to Ms Foo's first supplementary question, I want to assure her that the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone sits under the auspices of what we call the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM). JMCIM was set up 16 years ago in 2007. It was set up by both our Prime Ministers and it has been meeting every year. [Please refer to "Clarification by Minister of State for Trade and Industry", Official Report, 3 August 2023, Vol 95, Issue 110, Correction by Written Statement section.]

The JMCIM held its 16th meeting recently, slightly more than two weeks ago, on 14 July in Singapore. This meeting was co-chaired by Singapore's Minister for National Development Desmond Lee and Malaysia's Minister of Economy Mohd Rafizi Ramli. It was agreed during the meeting between the two Ministers that Singapore and Malaysia would set up a task force to study the establishment of JS-SEZ to do a few things: one, to drive economic growth; two, to strengthen economic connectivity between Singapore and Johor; and three, to promote collaboration for the mutual benefit of both countries and our peoples.

I would like to add that the JS-SEZ, if it comes about and is established, will build on the good growth of Johor and Singapore's significant investments in the region.

Ms Foo asked about what lessons can be drawn. I have explained that the JS-SEZ will sit under the auspices of the JMCIM. And if I could use the data-points since the COVID-19 measures were lifted, from January to June 2022, Singapore was Johor's second largest foreign investor after Japan. [Please refer to "Clarification by Minister of State for Trade and Industry", Official Report, 3 August 2023, Vol 95, Issue 110, Correction by Written Statement section.]

During this period, Singapore contributed to around 70% of Johor's total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the manufacturing sector, with about 3.97 billion ringgit in investments, most of which come from investments in the electric and electronics and medical equipment sectors.

As I shared earlier, it is complementary so that we can anchor regional headquarters activities here, we can also anchor research and development (R&D) activities and supply chain management here, so that our Singaporean workers are well-placed to perform these functions, to help the companies manage, integrate, orchestrate their Pan-Asian operations.

I want to assure the Member that the JS-SEZ will build on the foundation set by the various JMCIM workgroups to drive sustainable growth, develop human capital and improve infrastructure and connectivity. The meeting just took place two weeks ago. We will certainly provide the House with an update on the JS-SEZ during the 10th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat scheduled for later this year.