Malaysia’s Johor-Singapore SEZ gets US$150 million boost from Hong Kong battery maker

The much-touted Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) has received one of its earliest investors in battery maker Gold Peak Technology Group, with the Hong Kong-listed firm intending to expand production outside mainland China in light of global uncertainties.

It is the first company to use a new Green Lane initiative, launched on Wednesday by state government office Invest Johor and United Overseas Bank (UOB), which will allow investors to fast-track their entry into the special economic zone, according to UOB.

Gold Peak is investing about 670 million ringgit (US$150 million) to build a new facility combining manufacturing and research and development in Johor under the JS-SEZ, with a letter of intent signed at a conference in Malaysia’s Johor on Wednesday.

Daniel Chua, Gold Peak’s senior vice-president, told reporters that as the company was starting a new production line for its nickel-zinc batteries in China, the need for an overseas plant became clear.

“This special economic zone presents a very big opportunity for us to scale up our production, and at the same time to address the global market, other than just [the] China market,” Chua said.

On whether the move was to sidestep US tariffs on Chinese companies, Chua said: “Aside from us needing to rebalance our production rather than focusing on just one area, we are expanding outside of China at the same time because of this uncertainty. It certainly will help us to alleviate some of the issues.”