Singapore-Johor economy deal signing gets pushed to November

Bloomberg

29 August 2024 at 3:16 am·1-min read

The construction site of the Bukit Chagar RTS station in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. Malaysia and Singapore agreed to jointly develop a special economic zone and explore a range of measures including passport-free travel to boost trade between the neighbours that each count the other as the No. 2 trading partner. (Photo: Ore Huiying/Bloomberg)

By Catherine Bosley and Ram Anand

(Bloomberg) — A deal between Singapore and Malaysia to establish a special economic zone (SEZ) in Johor is likely to be signed by November, according to a top official.

Speaking to a conference in Singapore on Thursday, Chief Minister of Johor Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the timeline for both sides to ink the agreement had been delayed due to leadership meetings.

“It’ll be signed hopefully by November,” he said, adding that officials were ironing out the details of the definitive agreement. “All relevant parties, decision makers, are coming on board to make sure this happens,” he said.

Malaysia and Singapore signed a memorandum to develop the economic zone in January this year, aiming for the free movement of goods and people between the resource-rich state of Johor and land-constrained Singapore.

November would constitute a delay from earlier assessments. Malaysia’s Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli had said in July “both sides should be able to sign a deal” and unveil the zone in September.

Johor officials have said the SEZ could create as many as 100,000 new jobs in the state and bolster the Malaysian economy by about $26 billion per year by 2030.

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