Amir said Mizuho Bank would bring a much stronger focus on Japanese clients exploring Malaysia.

“It will act as a bridge to bring information and understanding, and provide financing to support growth,” he said at a press conference here.

Amir said the letter of intent exchanged between the Iskandar Regional Development Authority and Mizuho Bank marked the entry of a new financial partner supporting Malaysia’s economic agenda.

He said six banks were currently financial partners in the economic zone, each targeting different groups of investors.

“The bank we are now bringing in will focus more strongly on Japanese clients, helping them explore opportunities in Malaysia,” he said.

Amir said the partnership between the authority and Mizuho Bank would focus on financing support, promotion, events, and market intelligence.

He said the Japanese bank had already committed nearly US$600 million (RM2.52 billion) in financing for clients investing in JS-SEZ, particularly in food and beverage manufacturing, data centres, power generation and chemical-related industries.

Amir said RM37 billion in investments linked to JS-SEZ had been approved in the first half of this year.

“JS-SEZ is an extremely important economic part of Malaysia’s agenda. Since its launch, there has been a tremendous amount of interest, and the interest has translated into real projects on the ground. We have made good progress.

“This is not a magical process. This is the result of hard work by many parties, including the federal government, agencies, the Johor government, the Singapore government and our financial partners,” he said.

The authority’s chief executive, Noorazam Osman, said Japanese firms from the pharmaceutical, chemical, and health products sectors had expressed interest in Johor.