KUALA LUMPUR: The government is confident the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) agreement can be finalised by September this year, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said.
He said the negotiation with Singapore on the full-fledged agreement is in the final stage with its submission deadline in September.
"Once the agreement is signed, we hope we'll be able to get early takers that will come to JSSEZ.
"We are confident, looking at the interest expressed so far, that JSSEZ will be the launchpad for Asean market for investors in the next five to ten years," Rafizi said after attending the JSSEZ Investment Forum here today.
He added that the fiscal incentives package of the initiative may be announced in the upcoming 2025 Budget.
"The engagements, workshops, and feedback are now being incorporated.
"The final stage is between the various ministries, such as Finance Ministry (MOF), and Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti), and Johor (government), to put together a specific package.
"Most probably it can be announced in the budget speech," he said.
According to Rafizi, Asean is not only an influential market but also most likely poised to even overtake Europe.
He added that the value proposition of JSSEZ has to be very much privately driven because investment decisions are mostly done by venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) partners who backed the potential companies.
"The kind of companies that we want to encourage to come and build the ecosystem in JSSEZ are precisely the high-tech and high-value industries that we are lacking
In the forum session today, Rafizi and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi engaged with stakeholders comprising potential investors, chambers, and banks who have shared their opinions on the special economic zone.
Malaysia and Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in January this year to work on a JSSEZ to strengthen economic connectivity between Johor and Singapore.
It will target sectors related to electronics, financial services, business-related services, and healthcare.