Asia Economy

Malaysia’s most southerly state, Johor – home to 3.6m people spread over a total of 19,016 sq km – has long played a key political and economic role in the country’s development. On the Strait of Malacca and sharing a border with Singapore, Johor has the country’s busiest trans-shipment hub and benefits from its position at the crossroads of...

Improving logistics and connectivity is a key element of the next phase in Johor’s development. Progress has been made in expanding highways to reduce travel times between the state capital, Johor Bahru, and its towns and resorts, but the authorities are intensifying efforts in line with plans to transform Johor Bahru into Malaysia’s second...

The Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) was launched in 2008 and covers the whole of Sabah. It is now entering its third phase of development, which is likely to create more opportunities for foreign investors, particularly in the areas of tourism, hydrocarbons and palm oil-related ventures.

Since Iskandar Malaysia, one of five regional growth corridors in the country, was first mooted a decade ago, it has attracted investments in property development, not just in residential but also in industrial, commercial and hotels.

Developing Sabah’s infrastructure – from the provision of basic services such as electricity, water and sewers to crucial transport links such as ports, airports and roads – has long been vital to the state’s development but, given its mountainous terrain and relatively small population, is also a major logistical challenge. As in the rest of...

With major oil and gas deposits offshore, Sabah has long been a key part of Malaysia’s hydrocarbons industry – a major driver of the national economy. Indeed, since the first commercial discoveries were made offshore in the Sabah Delta Basin back in the early 1970s, oil and gas have made up a considerable slice of Sabah’s state revenues. This...