Johor Menteri Besar Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Onn Hafiz bin Ghazi was at United Overseas Bank U11 ’s Singapore headquarters in UOB Plaza today, where he held discussions with group CEO Wee Ee Cheong, UOB Malaysia CEO Ng Wei Wei and UOB senior management on the new Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The Johor Menteri Besar and his delegation also held a roundtable discussion with UOB and regional business leaders, according to an UOB press release.
The Menteri Besar’s visit was part of UOB’s efforts to strengthen collaboration initiatives under the planned SEZ, which aims to boost cross-border economic connectivity between Singapore and Malaysia. The SEZ was announced in January 2024 by government leaders from Singapore and Malaysia.
UOB also facilitated a roundtable discussion between the Johor delegation and representatives from large corporations and various business organisations such as the Singapore Business Federation, Singapore Manufacturing Federation, Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, China Enterprises Association (Singapore), the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and Japan External Trade Organisation. During the roundtable discussion, the Johor delegation presented on the strategies, priority sectors and implementation plans for the SEZ. Data centres are understood to have been mentioned during the discussion as a sector for inbound investment,
In March 2024, UOB Malaysia and UOB China also held a roundtable dialogue for Dato’ Onn in Shenzhen, one of China’s SEZs, with Chinese business and public sector leaders to facilitate more foreign direct investments into the Malaysia state. Shortly after this meeting, at least three companies from China have made investment commitments into Johor with a total projected investment value of about $550 million.
