JS-SEZ to lift Johor's GDP to RM250b by 2030 — ANZ Research

• ANZ cited the one-stop investment centre in Johor, which aims to establish 50 high-value projects and create 20,000 skilled jobs in the JS-SEZ within five years of inception.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 21): The Johor-Singapore special economic zone (SEZ) is set to lift Johor’s GDP to RM250 billion by 2030, according to ANZ Research.

In a note, the research house said this growth could position Johor to attain “high-income” status, driven by its strong GDP growth and population expansion.

Johor's GDP stood at RM148.2 billion in 2023, according to an earlier statement by the state government. The 2030 projection by ANZ entails a compounded annual growth rate of 6.5%, a back-of-the envelope calculation showed.

“Underlying this heady growth plan is the rapid induction of the high-value projects,” ANZ noted. These investments have been driven by the services sector, particularly technology services, mainly due to the growing number of data centres in the state, it said.

Investments in the manufacturing sector have also risen as companies adopt the ‘China plus one’ strategy, it added.

ANZ cited the one-stop investment centre in Johor, which aims to establish 50 high-value projects and create 20,000 skilled jobs in the JS-SEZ within five years of inception.

The one-stop investment centre, established by the Johor government and a Singaporean-facilitated platform to encourage Singaporean investments in Johor, is expected to be operational by year-end.

The research house noted that the development of the JS-SEZ aligns with the Progress Johor 2023 economic masterplan, which aims to accelerate the state’s GDP growth to 7.8% by 2030.

That would significantly surpass the state's pre-pandemic average GDP growth of 5.1% (2016–2019), ANZ said. It also significantly exceeds the national target of 3.6% outlined in 13^th Malaysia Plan, which runs from 2026–2030, the research house added.

Johor, Malaysia’s second-most populous state, contributes 9.5% to the national GDP. Its economic growth has mirrored the national average since 2016.

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