Singapore’s industrial business to move to Iskandar within 20 years

KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore’s industrial businesses are expected to move on a large scale to Iskandar Malaysia in Johor within the next 20 years, due to the city state’s stringent land policies.

“Quite a bit of industrial land in Singapore is on a leasehold basis. Singapore is good at reinventing themselves and in due time, with the shortage of land, the government is going to come up with a master plan by the end of this year, which will change the use of particular land parcels,” said Yvonne Voon, investment banking research analyst, Credit Suisse Singapore, at the Real Estate and Housing Development Association (Rehda) CEO Forum.

The Singapore master plan is updated every five years.

If the government has zoned a particular area for redevelopment, within the next five years, businesses will be forced to relocate, said Voon.

While Iskandar Malaysia is the right investment destination for Singaporean investors, it is still five to 10 years away from attracting large cap companies, she said. “Companies that have moved to Iskandar are the mid cap companies, which require minimal manufacturing facilities, but the large-scale companies which need advanced infrastructure are still waiting before moving across.”

Voon was involved in the panel discussion on Investment outlook for real estate in Singapore and Malaysia, with Zerin Properties CEO Previndran Singhe. The session was moderated by Rehda deputy president Datuk FD Iskandar Mohamed Mansor.

According to Previndran, Iskandar Malaysia will be a good place for Singaporean investors or companies, due to several catalytic projects that continue to strengthen ties between the two countries.

“Symbiotic projects like ones developed via the Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Temasek Holdings joint venture, as well as the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex, will enhance the economic relationship between Singapore and Malaysia,” he said.

The Rehda CEO Forum was held on Sept 19 at Wisma Rehda in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on September 20, 2013.