Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) has set a clear three-point plan to make it easier to do business in and around the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone: smooth cross‑border movement of people and goods, a single front door for investors, and a talent pipeline to match industry needs. The plan comes with hard targets—50 projects in five years, 100 in ten, and 20,000 skilled jobs in Malaysia—plus near‑term milestones including a late‑2026 rail link and a streamlined transshipment permit that cuts time and cost.
Transport and trade: from 10,000 a day to 10,000 an hour
A new Rapid Transit System (RTS) linking Singapore and Johor is slated to start operations in late 2026. Today, roughly 10,000 people cross the border daily by rail; the RTS will raise capacity to 10,000 per hour. At 12 hours of daily operations, that’s up to 120,000 people—an order‑of‑magnitude jump that makes tapping resources on both sides far more practical for businesses.
On goods movement, authorities introduced a single trans-shipment permit in October last year, consolidating what previously required two permits. The change halves application time and lowers costs by about $40 per shipment—savings that add up for high‑volume manufacturers.
Single front doors for investors
Malaysia has launched the IMFCJ, a Johor-based body that brings 28 state and federal agencies under one roof to coordinate land, water, incentives, and work permits. It is the only such facility outside Kuala Lumpur and is designed to guide investors end‑to‑end.
On Singapore’s side, EDB’s new Programme Office—working alongside Enterprise Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry—will walk businesses through market entry, permitting, and operational set‑up to accelerate investment into the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.
Targets and the talent imperative
EDB has announced 50 projects in the next five years and 100 in ten years, plus 20,000 skilled jobs to be created in Malaysia. The Programme Office will also focus on talent—aligning worker skills with the investments the region seeks to attract—so operations can scale quickly once established in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.
“We want to reduce barriers in the zone; by this I mean helping goods and people flow easily across the border,” Esther Teo, Director, Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone Programme Office at EDB, told BackgroundBriefing.
Bigger picture
Officials are positioning the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone as a “win‑win” that grows the regional economic pie rather than shifting activity across a zero‑sum border. With faster people flows, simpler permits, and coordinated investor support, the framework aims to de‑risk set‑up and speed time‑to‑scale for companies serving both markets.
About the speaker:
Esther Teo
Director, Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone Programme Office
EDB
Esther Teo, Director of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone Programme Office at the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), brings nearly a decade of experience in economic development and industry transformation. She currently oversees cross-border initiatives aimed at strengthening economic ties between Singapore and Johor.
Prior to her current role, Esther served as Assistant Vice President for Industry Manpower Development and previously headed Digital Industry Singapore (DISG), driving digital sector growth. Before joining EDB, she was a seasoned journalist with The Straits Times, covering Chinese politics and global affairs as its Beijing-based China Correspondent. Esther holds an MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy from the University of Oxford and a BA in Political Science and Communication Studies from the University of Michigan.
More stories: Singapore ramps up investments to secure spot in global space industry
5W1H summary
| Category | Answer Pointers |
| What | 1. Remove barriers |
| 2. Streamline Permits | |
| 3. Grow Talent | |
| How | 1. Our new agencies |
| 2. Our IHL partnerships | |
| 3. Our Refundable Investment Credits | |
| Why | 1. Strengthen value proposition |
| 2. Attract new investments | |
| 3. To create wins for Singapore, Malaysia, companies and Southeast Asia | |
| Who | 1. Esther Teo, EDB Programme Office Director |
| 2. EDB, Enterprise Singapore, MTI | |
| 3. IMFCJ in Johor | |
| Where | 1. Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone |
| 2. Cross-border between Singapore and Johor | |
| 3. IMFCJ office in Johor | |
| When | 1. RTS operational by late 2026 |
| 2. Trans-shipment permit launched Oct last year | |
| 3. Targets: 50 projects in 5 years |
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1: What is the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JSSEZ)?
A: It is a bilateral initiative to enhance trade, investment, and talent flow between Johor and Singapore.
Q2: How will cross-border movement improve under this program?
A: The RTS rail system will allow 10,000 people per hour to cross, compared to 10,000 per day currently.
Q3: What changes have been made to goods movement?
A: A single transshipment permit now replaces two permits, cutting time and saving about $40 per shipment.
Q4: What are the investment facilitation measures?
A: Malaysia set up IMFCJ with 28 agencies; Singapore created a Programme Office with EDB, Enterprise SG, and MTI.
Q5: What are the key targets for the JSSEZ?
A: 50 projects in 5 years, 100 in 10 years, and 20,000 skilled jobs in Malaysia.
Transcript of the interview:
For us, we are a new office set up. We’re called the JS-SEZ program office. That’s a little bit of a mouthful, but it stands for Johor Singapore Special Economic Zone. There are a few things we want to do now that we are getting started.
Maybe I’ll list our top three.
- First, we want to reduce barriers in the zone; by this I mean helping goods and people flow easily across the border.
- Secondly, we are focused on making it easy for investors to go into the GSSE act. So, figuring out how do I invest there? Who do I need to work with? We’re happy to walk a lot of our businesses through.
- Lastly, and I think very importantly, talent. Talent is about making sure that the JS-SEZ has a skilled profile of workers that can support the investments that we’re bringing to the region.
There are various ways that we’re going to do this. Firstly, in terms of movement of goods and people, as you know, and I’m sure a lot of Singaporeans know, the Rapid Transit System. That’s the train system. A new one will be up and running from late 2026.
Currently with our rail system, you have about 10,000 people crossing the border in a day. With our new train system, you actually have 10,000 people in an hour. So we assume that your train is running for 12 hours, you get almost 120,000 people across the border. That’s a massive increase in the flow of people and that will make both sides of the border a lot more seamless where businesses can tap on the resources of both sides.
Apart from that, something that businesses have been talking about quite a bit is the flow of goods. Even as we try to talk about twinning models, having something in Singapore and then having something complimentary in Johor, making sure that customs clearances, permits and licenses, having all of that sorted out in a very seamless way, is also top on the list for us.
On that I’ll be happy to share. Very recently, in October last year, we introduced a new trans shipment permit. In the past, when you wanted to ship something to Singapore and then have it shipped out, you needed two permits: an import permit. Currently what we’ve done is to streamline this into a single trans shipment permit.
Essentially, you half the time needed to apply for your permits because it’s just one. Also in terms of cost, you actually save about $40. If you are a big manufacturer and you have many goods moving across the border every day, that could add up to quite a sizable number.
Okay. Wow, that’s a lot to unpack. What is EDB bringing to its half of this conversation?
I talked earlier about how we are making it easy for businesses to access the region. There are two main things I think we’re doing on both sides. On the Johor side, the Malaysia side, they have set up a new institution called the IMFCJ. Essentially, this is an agency that houses 28 different agencies in Malaysia across both state and federal.
As you can imagine in Malaysia you have both state laws and federal laws. For instance, land and water, you might need your state government to weigh in. For the federal side, if you’re looking at incentives, you’re looking at work permits for your foreigners coming in, that’s a federal consideration.
What we’ve done is to consolidate all of that into one single facility having 28 different agencies sit on that board and helping investors navigate that end-to-end journey. That’s on Malaysia’s end. The IMFCJ is the only one outside of KL that has been set up. That really shows the bilateral commitment and conviction to push this forward.
On EDB’s end, what we’ve done is to set up this program office which I’ve just joined a couple of months ago. Our program office is also made up of three different agencies ourselves, which would be attracting foreign businesses into the larger region. Enterprise Singapore helps local businesses access the opportunities in Johor. Lastly, Ministry of Trade and Industry.
It was set up to help businesses to understand the various initiatives that we are working together the Malaysians on, helping them invest and enter into Johor in a much more seamless way.
What are the outcomes or KPIs that you’re looking to achieve?
In general we have made a couple of announcements on KPIs. We’re looking at 50 projects in the next 5 years and 100 projects in the next 10 years. That’s what we’re gunning for. On top of that we’re hoping to create 20,000 skilled jobs in Malaysia itself.
Essentially how we’re seeing this is growing the economic pie. Ensuring that we as a region, Singapore and Johor, attract new investments, new global investments into the region so that all of us benefit. It’s not really a zero sum game. We’re seeing it as win-win for both sides.