JS-SEZ To Drive Greater Economic Integration, Create More Jobs -- Maybank 

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- The signing of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) agreements will drive greater economic integration, catalysing growth and promoting greater economic participation between the two countries.

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) president and group chief executive officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said the agreement will also create more employment opportunities, boosting intra-regional trade, as well as enhancing the region’s resilience as an economic bloc.

“We also see strong growth potential in the halal industry in JS-SEZ to serve the global market,” he said in a statement today.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong witnessed the exchange of joint agreements between Malaysia and Singapore on JS-SEZ, along with six other memoranda of understanding and one letter of intent. 

Khairussaleh said that when the JS-SEZ becomes a reality and further eases movement of people and goods, Maybank, being the fourth largest bank by assets in Southeast Asia, expects robust growth in cross-border payments. 

“We observed a healthy cross-border transactions volume increase close to 60 per cent, from 229,900 as at the end of 2023 to 336,700 in 2024,” he added.

-- BERNAMA