Johor Interconnect World Forum 2025

This keynote will explore how the Johor Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) is positioned to become a pivotal driver of economic integration and digital connectivity between Malaysia and Singapore. The session will highlight the JS-SEZ’s strategic role in fostering cross-border investments, accelerating infrastructure development, and enabling high-value industries such as digital trade, data centers, logistics, and advanced manufacturing. It will also emphasize the importance of regulatory harmonization, talent mobility, and sustainable development as cornerstones of long-term bilateral success.

Johor is fast becoming a strategic launchpad for global technology enterprises expanding across Southeast Asia. From Chinese cloud giants to Western hyperscalers and regional innovators, companies are increasingly drawn by Johor’s proximity to Singapore, its expanding digital infrastructure, and investor-friendly policies. As data centers, smart manufacturing zones, and innovation hubs take root, Johor is evolving into a critical node in ASEAN’s digital economy.

Yet, with this growth comes new questions about data sovereignty, cross-border data flows, and regulatory harmonization—especially as enterprises navigate differing standards between Malaysia, Singapore, and beyond.

This session explores the dynamics fueling Johor’s ascent and how it is shaping the region’s future digital landscape:
• How Johor enables global tech players to expand into ASEAN while managing cross-border regulatory risks
• Trends in data center development, digital infrastructure investment, and tech ecosystem acceleration
• The implications of Malaysia’s data sovereignty policies and regional frameworks for cross-border data flows
• What’s next: Can Johor establish itself as Southeast Asia’s next trusted hub for digital infrastructure, innovation, and data governance?

Despite its rapid growth in data center and digital infrastructure investments, Johor still relies heavily on Singapore for core network connectivity. As demand for low-latency, high-capacity links surges—driven by AI, cloud services, and cross-border platforms—this dependency becomes a bottleneck for resilience, autonomy, and growth.

This keynote explores Johor’s path toward digital sovereignty by enhancing its local and regional interconnection fabric. It will address:
• The limitations of current connectivity models and why reliance on Singapore hinders long-term growth
• Strategic priorities for Johor’s own IXs, fiber infrastructure, and cable landing stations
• The case for localizing traffic exchange through public-private collaboration and regional peering
• How to incentivize network providers, hyperscalers, and content platforms to land traffic in Johor

With rising demand for digital infrastructure, Johor stands at the cusp of becoming more than just Singapore’s overflow—it has the opportunity to lead as a regional data center hub. The vision for a next-generation Data Center Park in Johor isn’t just about building facilities; it’s about creating a connected, scalable, and sustainable digital ecosystem that powers ASEAN’s digital transformation.

This keynote will explore:
• Why Johor? Strategic location, FTZ advantages, land availability, and proximity to regional IXs and subsea routes
• From isolated sites to interconnected campus models: creating a park with shared infrastructure, power, cooling, and security
• Sustainable by design: Incorporating renewables, liquid cooling, and green building standards from the ground up
• Building for AI and cloud: Power and network readiness for high-density workloads and hyperscaler demand
• What it takes to attract tenants and partners: Incentives, policies, and cross-border integration with Singapore and Batam
• How a data center park can become a catalyst for job creation, local innovation, and sovereign infrastructure development

The Johor Data Center Park is more than a real estate play—it’s a bold move toward digital leadership in Southeast Asia.

Johor’s strategic rise as a digital infrastructure hub is undeniable—but talent may be its greatest bottleneck. With world-class infrastructure projects underway and surging interest from global investors, the region faces a critical question: Who will run these networks and data centers?

Unlike neighboring Singapore, Johor must contend with challenges in attracting skilled professionals—from quality of life to career development opportunities. This keynote confronts the uncomfortable truths head-on while exploring bold, actionable solutions to turn this challenge into a competitive edge.

Addressing
1. Why the current pace of talent development is insufficient to support Johor’s digital ambitions
2. How government, education, and industry can co-create an attractive, future-ready talent pipeline
3. Opportunities to reposition Johor as a hub for upskilling, cost-efficient operations, and digital career mobility
4. Case studies: How other regions build a thriving digital workforce

This session invites industry leaders to rethink traditional talent strategies—not just to fill jobs, but to build ecosystems where talent chooses to stay and grow.

Johor is rapidly emerging as a key data center hub in Southeast Asia, driven by hyperscaler interest, strategic proximity to Singapore, and major infrastructure investments. This keynote explores the trends fueling Johor’s rise—from power and connectivity demands to talent and sustainability challenges—and what it will take for the region to scale smart and compete globally.

This panel will explore the dual challenge of ensuring sustainable water and power supplies in Johor, focusing on the innovative strategies and technologies needed to address growing demand while minimizing environmental impact. Experts will discuss how Johor can balance the needs of its expanding economy with the imperative for sustainable resource management.

– Overview of Johor’s water and power sustainability challenges
– Optimizing Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) for Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
– Balancing economic growth with sustainable resource usage
– The role of government policies and regulations in sustainability

As Johor emerges as a digital hub, data centers must be designed to handle AI-driven workloads while addressing local challenges like water scarcity, power constraints, and rapid scalability. This keynote explores how modular architecture, flexible space and power planning, and sustainable cooling solutions can future-proof facilities for long-term growth in a resource-constrained environment.

This panel will discuss how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing telecom networks by improving efficiency, cutting costs, and enabling smarter decision-making. Experts will explore AI’s potential to optimize network performance, enhance customer experiences, and streamline network management, while also addressing challenges like data privacy and scalability in AI integration.

– Leveraging AI to enhance network performance, automate processes, and predict network issues before they arise.
– Using AI-driven tools to deliver personalized services, reduce downtime, and increase customer satisfaction.
– How AI can streamline telecom operations, reduce costs, and improve resource allocation.
– Addressing the complexities of scaling AI solutions within telecom infrastructure.

This panel will explore Johor’s evolving connectivity landscape, emphasizing the role of infrastructure development, cross-border partnerships, and emerging technologies. Industry leaders will discuss the challenges and opportunities in building a resilient digital ecosystem to support economic growth, innovation, and global competitiveness.

– Importance of peering ecosystems for enhancing regional connectivity.
– How policies and incentives can attract global telecom and data center investments.
– Leveraging Johor’s strategic location within SIJORI for enhanced digital trade.
– Addressing fiberization, 5G rollout, and interconnectivity hubs.
– Balancing sustainability, security, and scalability in digital infrastructure expansion.

This keynote will discuss how Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) are transforming Telecom, Media, and Technology (TMT) infrastructure. It will focus on how these technologies drive innovation, optimize infrastructure, and help businesses remain competitive in the digital age, with a particular emphasis on their convergence and impact on the future of TMT infrastructure.

– The role of Cloud, AI, and IoT in modernizing TMT infrastructure
– How these technologies enable greater operational efficiency and innovation
– Future trends and challenges in adopting these technologies across industries

As Johor accelerates its transformation into a data center and interconnect hub, the pressure is on to build not just fast—but sustainably. With global ESG standards tightening and hyperscalers seeking greener deployments, the spotlight is on how Johor can rise to the challenge of responsible digital growth.

This closing panel brings together key voices from infrastructure developers, ESG investors, sustainability experts, and regulators to explore the intersection of growth and accountability.

Key discussion points:
1. How can Johor deliver low-carbon, high-density digital infrastructure at scale?
2. Tackling water scarcity and cooling innovation in tropical environments
3. Balancing land development with biodiversity, environmental zoning, and public trust
4. Aligning with global ESG benchmarks: what do investors and hyperscalers expect?
5. What policies and incentives are needed to accelerate green innovation and clean energy adoption? Should Malaysia look into energy tarriffs?

This session closes the forum by reframing growth through a sustainability lens—positioning Johor not just as a competitive hub, but a responsible digital leader in Southeast Asia.