Mah Sing's Ong said Johor’s appeal continues to grow due to infrastructure projects.
KUALA LUMPUR: The joint agreement between Malaysia and Singapore marks a new beginning for the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), which aims to support economic growth and transform Johor into a regional powerhouse.
Mah Sing chief executive officer of property subsidiaries Benjamin Ong, a panelist at the CGS International 17th Annual Malaysia Corporate Day 2025, expressed optimism on Johor’s economic prospects, attributing it to improving market dynamics and enhanced connectivity.
“The most miserable time for Johor was during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected a lot of retailers. But now, over the weekends, you can feel the vibrancy of Johor again.
“From shopping malls to banana fritter stalls on the street, everyone is thriving and the momentum is growing,” he said.
He added that Johor’s appeal continues to grow due to infrastructure projects such as the electric train service linking Klang Valley to Johor, the near-completion of the Johor Bahru-Singapore rapid transit system link and the proposed Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail.
“These connectivity projects will further enhance Johor’s attractiveness, especially in the southern Iskandar region,” he said.
He also pointed to Johor’s strong industrial growth as a key driver of rising demand for residential properties.
He noted that a lot of industrial land have been acquired over the last three to four years, with factories being built leading to the positive spillover of people buying homes, most of whom being owner-occupiers who commute to Singapore for work or work in the state’s industrial zones.
“So, we foresee the momentum for industrial property is still going very strong,” Ong noted, adding that Johor’s once-high inventory of unsold properties has significantly decreased over the past two years.
He underscored Johor’s potential to benefit from its proximity to Singapore, one of Asean’s key financial hubs, with the 10-member bloc being the fifth-largest economy globally.
“With the presence of connectivity, Johor Bahru is well-positioned to share in Singapore’s growth,” he said.
Meanwhile, fellow panelist Kevin Li, CEO of Country Garden Malaysia and Singapore chief financial officer and Forest City, also emphasised connectivity as important for the success of the JS-SEZ and Forest City’s special financial zone (SFZ).
Malaysia created Forest City’s SFZ in September 2023 to boost investments, growth and economic activities in Johor.
Giving an example in the context of an investor, Li said “connectivity allows investors to invest in Forest City at the same time, they can freely travel to Singapore to get access to the bigger global markets and capital markets”.
He then shared that the JS-SEZ allows for further collaboration and deeper integration between Malaysia and Singapore, and said that it was always about complimenting and cooperation, instead of competing between each other.
“So on the Forest City SFZ side, we will place a major focus on financial services, while the JS-SEZ will cover a much larger area and more industries,” he said.
Separately, semiconductor industry experts expressed optimism for the industry in 2025, noting the rising demand for chips from technology powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Integrated circuit designer Oppstar Bhd
’s co-CEO Meng Thai Ng said AI remains pivotal to the growth of the industry while EG Services Bhd CEO Datuk Alex Kang Pang Kiang highlighted Malaysia’s attractiveness under the China +1 strategy, citing the country’s multilingual workforce and competitive costs.
“Malaysia must, however, strike a balance between welcoming foreign companies and protecting local players from being overshadowed by more advanced competitors,” Kang said.
MIDF Research said in a note that property, construction, utilities, oil and gas, transport and logistics would benefit the most from the JS-SEZ.
“We think this will have a trickle down towards the small and micro businesses growing in the region as the population is expected to increase due to the pickup in business activities,” it said.
It said the key objective of the JS-SEZ were enhancing cross-border connectivity, facilitating freer movement of people especially workers and tourists and, strengthening business ecosystems to foster a robust business environment.
