Johor – Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS – SEZ) is attractive to Singapore firms

Johor – Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) is attractive to Singapore firms

Until today, many friends remain unconvinced about JB property investment. Their main reason? This: (plus media outlets love to keep repeating this story non-stop)

I just want to remind everyone again this very fact yeah. Forest City does NOT represent the whole Johor and it does NOT mean that property investment is over for Johor Bahru. Many things continue to happen and of course Forest City will take more time to get past its many issues and troubles including the fact that it would have been too many, too soon. It was also targeted at Chinese (China citizen) predominantly and this is not a viable route if we are talking about long term viability.

Whatever investments in the property market must be focused on mostly Malaysian and Singaporean buyers yeah. Great to have more buyers from more countries but if we are looking at a successful venture which will support both JB and Singapore growth, then focus on the people from both sides and not from a country around 6,000km away.

Coming back to the potential, there’s this Johor – Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ)

Article in nst.com.my Singapore firms view Johor as an attractive destination and are eager to set up operations and invest in the proposed Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), according to a report released by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF).

Key findings from the JS-SEZ Singapore Business Working Group’s (SBWG) report, titled ‘Greater Together: Two Economies, One Ecosystem,’ revealed that 93 per cent of respondents consider Johor an appealing investment destination, with half of them already operating in the state.

The findings were released at a JS-SEZ Joint Investor Forum on Thursday and are based on SBF’s engagements with 160 Singaporean businesses across various industries. Speaking at the forum, SBWG Chairman Teo Siong Seng said the enthusiastic response to the report highlights the JS-SEZ’s great potential for the region. Do read here for the full report on the survey: Article in nst.com.my

Singapore firms need to love Iskandar / JB for future growth, together

I hate to say this but frankly and realistically, if Singaporean firms want to grow their business, they need to manage their costs better especially where people and place is concerned. If they like to hire 5 people to expand their business and base them in Singapore, then they could hire 12-15 people just across the straits. If they think the talents they want to hire are in Batam for example, then I think they have wrong expectations yeah. Batam’s advantages is definitely not on skilled professionals yeah if they say it’s not easy to get in JB.

If they like to buy / rent a big space in Singapore, then they can buy / rent a MUCH bigger space here in JB / Iskandar. Instead of a small office, they could get a bigger office where people could work comfortably, with properly sized meeting rooms etc.

This was also why Shenzhen is the best partner to Hong Kong and why Hong Kong is so successful with Shenzhen as their partner. One could be the HQ, the other would be the production / testing / service and more. Please note, the competition to Hong Kong and Shenzhen does not come from one another but from the whole world yeah. This is the same as Singapore and JB. The competition comes from many countries around the region and beyond. Working together, then both benefits. Simple and easy to understand.

All the best to the JS-SEZ.

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