Following the signing of Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) agreement, Maybank, Southeast Asia’s fourth largest bank by assets, will further support global economic activities centered in Johor and Singapore with the aim of being the preferred financial institution for Malaysia-Singapore financial transactions and solutions.
Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli, President & Group CEO, Maybank said that JS-SEZ will present greater economic integration to catalyse growth and promote greater economic participation by the population and more employment opportunities, boosting intra-regional trade, as well as enhancing the region’s resilience as an economic bloc.
“In efforts to promote JS-SEZ becoming a high-performing economic zone, Maybank is committed to actively play a part in ensuring ease of doing business in Malaysia and Singapore. Through our strong foundation, deep understanding of the region and proven expertise in providing financial solutions for, and meeting transactions needs of all segments of our customers, we firmly believe that the JS-SEZ can collectively bring meaningful outcomes to all stakeholders and the ASEAN community at large.”
“Over the last few months, Maybank both in Malaysia and Singapore has been active in hosting events and engagements with the presence of Menteri Besar of Johor and federal ministers to promote JS-SEZ to stakeholders and investors.
“Businesses will be able to capitalise on Maybank’s one-stop support providing advisory services, enhanced credit facilities including express processing of loans for financing of investments, seamless cross-border trade and investment experience through our wide physical and online touchpoints in Johor and Singapore. Maybank’s support includes joint efforts to attract investments from Singapore but also as a gateway to expand in ASEAN. This will also include enabling key industries to thrive such as data centres, semiconductors, wealth management, logistics and manufacturing.”
“We also see strong growth potential in the Halal industry in JS-SEZ to serve the global market. Via our solid global Islamic banking experience in ASEAN, we are strategically positioned to assist in not only providing Syariah compliant Islamic finance but also enabling access to the Halal ecosystem and marketplace for businesses,” said Dato’ Khairussaleh.
Maybank is well positioned to support its customers in the JS-SEZ region with sustainable and transition finance solutions. From 2021 to September 2024, Maybank mobilised RM104.89 billion (SGD32 billion) in sustainable finance and has put in place capabilities and dedicated resources to advise on sustainable and transition finance solutions.
With JS-SEZ being five times the size of Singapore, Maybank has a vast footprint in Johor and Singapore. To date, Maybank has 37 branches, 3 Maybank Premier Centres, 9 Maybank Service Centres and 6 Commercial Banking Centres in Johor. The Bank plans to setup a “phygital” branch at Forest City to offer personalised consultation virtually and provide banking services. In Singapore, Maybank has a long history of serving customers, with 18 branches and 6 Maybank Premier Lounges, the highest amongst foreign banks.
Maybank has also been working on achieving seamless cross-border payments and account opening, and strengthening its beyond banking services. Cross-border QR payments and P2P payments via mobile numbers are also available for both Malaysia and Singapore Maybank customers. Maybank cross-border QR payments has shown positive growth traction recording over 3 million transactions totaling RM250 million since May 2023. Maybank cross-border QR Pay service now supports six countries namely Singapore, Indonesia, China, Thailand, South Korea, and Cambodia.
“When the JS-SEZ becomes a reality and further eases movement of people and goods, we can expect robust growth in cross-border payments. We observed a healthy cross-border transactions volume increase close to 60%, from 229,900 as at end 2023 to 336,700 in 2024. These are from inward and outward transactions within Malaysia and Singapore via Maybank Overseas Transfer (MOT), which provides real-time overseas funds transfer to any banks within Malaysia and Singapore at attractive rates and fees. Our commitment to drive cross-border convenience resulted in active digital customer growth to more than 9.9 million in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Cambodia,” added Dato’ Khairussaleh.
