ISKANDAR Malaysia’s main competitive edge lies in its strategic location. Being the southern gateway into Peninsula Malaysia, it is accessible within an eight-hour flight radius from Asia’s burgeoning growth centres of China, India, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. This puts Iskandar Malaysia within reach of a global market of some 800 million people.

The region is also connect via air, land, rail and sea. Apart from the Senai International airport and Changi Airport, Singapore, there are three major ports within the region: Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Pasir Gudang, Port and Tanjung Langsat Port. Besides location and connectivity, Iskandar Malaysia has ample space for business growth and expansion at competitive prices. Iskandar Malaysia spans 2,217sqkm: three times the size of Singapore with a mix of greenfield and brownfield development.

The development thus far at Iskandar Malaysia has been holistic and far-reaching Safety and security has been improved, there has been an integration of public transport, housing and neighborhood design as well as the building of human capital. ICT development and infrastructure has also been given emphasis as has waste management and tourism.

In a nutshell, the infrastructure in place and in being developed at the moment is in preparation for a city of the future. Iskandar Malaysia is set to become a strong and sustainable metropolis of international standing. To reach this ideal, Iskandar Malaysia is concentrating its efforts on certain sectors through its economic clusters. There are nine economic clusters which are given special focus and offer excellent investment opportunities.

Under the services umbrella focus is given on financial advisory and consulting, creative industries, logistics, tourism, education and healthcare. Under manufacturing, focus will be given to electrical and electronics, petrochemical and oleochemical, food and agro processing. Currently, the manufacturing sector against the service sector is at a ration of 70:30 but to meet the government’s aspirations of moving people up the value chain and to realize the economic indicators, a ratio of 30:70 is set to be achieved.

At the same time the manufacturing sector, which has been the central economic pillar of Iskandar Malaysia, will continue to be reinforced on a ‘natural play’ basis. The diversity of industries offers a long-terms and sustainable investment proposition, along with a ready pool of talented, multilingual workforce. Existing and upcoming infrastructure also boost the competitiveness of Iskandar Malaysia and the region provides attractive and exciting incentive packages for its investors. Political stability is also a very important element for investors, and with the strong support of the federal and state government, it is an ideal situation.

Iskandar Malaysia: Facts & Figures

Land Size

• Iskandar Malaysia covers a land size of 2,217 sq. km.
• 3 times the size of Singapore.
• 48 times the size of Putrajaya.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

• Total Iskandar Malaysia GDP is about USD 20 billion in 2005, 60% of Johor's total GDP of USD 33.4 billion.
• Current per capita GDP for Iskandar Malaysia is about USD 14,790 which is higher than the Johor per capita GDP of USD 10,757 but half of Singapore's (about USD 30,000).
• Services and Manufacturing sectors are the two main pillars of Iskandar Malaysia's economy, but Services dominate by contributing about USD 10 billion in Iskandar Malaysia.
• Within the Services sector, Wholesale and Retail trade contributes 42.2%, Tourism and Hospitality (16.8%), Professional and Business (14.6%), Transport and Related (12.7%), Medical and Educational (6.7%), Financial (6.6%).

Population by 2025

• Iskandar Malaysia is estimated to have 1.35 million people or 43% of Johor's population of 3.17 million. Some 66% of the population is of working age.
• Malays comprise 48.2%; Chinese 35.8%; Indians 9.4% & foreigners 6.6%. One third of the population is estimated at below 15 years old.

Advantages

• GDP/Capita in Purchasing Power Parity - USD9,265 in 2005, 30-year GDP growth between 7% and 8%.
• South Johor accounts for 60% of State's GDP with services sector largest source of growth.
• Access to a large, educated workforce that is skilled and proficient in English, Bahasa Malaysia and other international languages.
• A mixture of green-fields and brown-fields, less expensive than Singapore & Hong Kong.
• State of the art telecommunications with efficient & transparent public institutional framework.
• Dynamic, knowledge-based clusters including information technology, biotechnology, tourism - education & healthcare, Islamic finance, manufacturing and electrical and electronic industry.
• World-class land, sea & air cargo facilities that allow good supply and distribution of raw materials.
• Ultra modern airport in Senai, handling 1.25 million visitors and over 7,500 tonnes of cargo in 2005.
• Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Pasir Gudang- established world-class transshipment ports of Malaysia.
• Excellent international tourist destinations and sports facilities, including shopping and healthcare & wellness.
• Low inflation rate (less than 3.5%) & unemployment rate of 3-4 %.

The 5 zones of Iskandar

Flagship A: Johor Bahru City