Johor Corporation

Type	State-owned
Industry	Investment Management
Founded	1968
Headquarters	Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Key people	Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi (Chairman) Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim (President and Chief Executive)
Total assets	MYR8.4 billion (2021)
Owner	State Government of Johor
Number of employees	77 (2023)
Subsidiaries	Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad KPJ Healthcare Berhad QSR Brands (M) Holdings JLand Group (JLG)
Website	www.jcorp.com.my

Johor Corporation (JCorp) is Johor’s principal development institution for the State. Headquartered in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, its operations span multiple countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Australia,Thailand, Cambodia and Bangladesh.

JCorp’s flagship companies Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad, KPJ Healthcare Berhad, QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd and JLand Group Sdn Bhd spearhead the Group’s interest across four core sectors, namely: agribusiness, wellness & healthcare, food & restaurants and real estate & infrastructure.

As an investment holding corporation, its primary goal is premised on its mission of Membina & Membela (Wealth Distribution & Wealth Distribution^[1]).

JCorp has held corporate global credit ratings of "AAA/Stable/P1" by rating agency RAM Ratings in 2022.

Board of Directors

Given JCorp's role as a state agency, the Menteri Besar Johor holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Its board is completed by president and chief executive, six officials from the Johor Civil Service, Federal Government officials and two other independent directors:

• Three officials of the Johor Civil Service:^[2]
  • the secretary of state;
  • the state legal advisor;
  • the state financial officer;
• Three officials of the Federal Government:
  • the secretary-general to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry;
  • the secretary-general to the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development; and
  • the secretary of Loan Management and Finance Policy Division, Ministry of Finance; and
• Two independent directors appointed amongst the business community.

History

JCorp was incorporated as Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Johor (PKENJ) ^[3] or Johor State Economic Development Corporation (JSEDC) by the Johor State Government under enactment No. 4/1968 (Enakmen Perbadanan Johor No. 4/1968), which was passed on 18 May 1968 as the principal development institution to drive the growth of the state’s economy. It was later amended in 1995 and renamed to Johor Corporation (Pindaan; Enakmen No. 5/1995).

It was established with a RM10 million loan from the State Government to fund its initial foray into the plantation business. JCorp has had three significant stages of evolution over the past 50 years.

JCorp 1.0 commenced in 1968 and was mandated to eradicate poverty and to organise society.

The Group transitioned into JCorp 2.0 stage in 1995 to accelerate economic growth. With a net asset value of RM2.2 billion at the time, JCorp was Malaysia's largest SEDC.

In 2020, JCorp 3.0^[4] was initiated to reinvent, reset, reimagine and future-proof its businesses.

Investments

JCorp's investments are focused on its core businesses, Agribusiness, Wellness & Healthcare, Food & Restaurant and Real Estate & Infrastructure.

AGRIBUSINESS

Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad (KULIM) began its change process by streamlining its operations^[5] to create an organisation focused on an essential commodity – food.

Principally involved in upstream and midstream oil palm operations, KULIM’s presence spans across Malaysia and Indonesia. It is also amongst the earliest palm oil producers to be certified to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standard.

KULIM's plantation operations currently cover a total area of 74,786 hectares, with Johor accounting for 60,339 hectares (81%), while the remaining 14,447 hectares are based in South Sumatra, Indonesia, where the Group has been granted cultivation rights or Hak Guna Usaha (HGU). Total Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) production from its Malaysian and Indonesian operations reached 1,118,288 tonnes in 2022. KULIM operates 23 estates in Johor, two in South Sumatra, Indonesia, and five palm oil mills in Johor.

KULIM is also involved in agrofood^[6] which encompasses agro-farming and livestock. As of 2022, it has undertaken intensive farming for crops such as cucumbers, long beans, brinjal, and chilli on 20 acres in its Ulu Tiram Estate. For mono-crop farming, KULIM established 247 acres for coconut farming at the Balau Coconut Farm in Kota Tinggi. KULIM also set up an 18-acre durian farm in Kluang, Johor.

KULIM through its subsidiary Kulim Pineapple Farm (KPF), cultivated 611 acres of MD2 pineapple farms in Ulu Tiram and Tanah Abang in Mersing, Johor. KULIM is one of the biggest producers of fresh pineapples in Malaysia with exports to Singapore, East Asia, the Middle East and Germany. For livestock, KULIM is involved in beef cattle and sheep rearing with a total population of 8,300 heads and 500 heads respectively.

WELLNESS & HEALTHCARE

KPJ Healthcare Berhad

Menara KPJ

KPJ Healthcare Berhad (KPJ Healthcare) is a private healthcare provider in Malaysia since 1982. With an integrated network of 29 specialist hospitals, 4 Ambulatory Care Centres and 2 Senior & Assisted Living Care Centres located nationwide, KPJ Healthcare also has footprints in 3 countries namely Thailand, Bangladesh and Australia.  

KPJ Healthcare^[7] is listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad. Its value ecosystem centres on managing a network of specialist hospitals, with a market value of RM4.5 billion, as at 31 December 2022.

KPJ Healthcare has 4 Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited hospitals and 19 Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH)accredited hospitals .

Klinik Waqaf An-Nur (KWAN)

Klinik Waqaf An Nur (KWAN)^[8] was established by JCorp through Waqaf An-Nur Corporation Berhad together with KPJ Healthcare Berhad to provide an accessible and affordable healthcare services to all members of the community, with a particular focus on serving the low-income and marginalised populations.

KPJ University College of Healthcare (KPJUC)

KPJ University College (KPJUC) which is located in Negeri Sembilan founded in 1991.

KPJUC currently offers more than 40 academic programmes which has helped KPJ’s hospital network expansion strategies as it ensures KPJ Healthcare has a ready pool of experienced and well-trained talent.

FOOD & RESTAURANT

QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd

QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd (QSR) is Malaysia’s vertically integrated food operator. QSR operates over 850 KFC restaurants in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia, as well as over 500 Pizza Hut outlets in Malaysia and Singapore. QSR also owns Ayamas and Life.

QSR and its subsidiaries are recognised by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM).^[9]

REAL ESTATE & INFRASTRUCTURE (REID)

JLAND GROUP SDN BHD (JLG)

JLand Group Sdn Bhd (JLG) is a wholly owned subsidiary of JCorp focusing on building digital-first and sustainable ecosystems in the real estate and infrastructure industry.^[10] JLG’s portfolio spans across diversified real estate activities and investments, including integrated parks, industrial, logistics and data centres.

JLG’s core businesses encompass four strategic areas, namely Real Estate Development, Asset Lifecycle Management (ALM), Real Estate Investment (REIT) and Infrastructure & Utilities.

As of December 2022, JLG has developed 34 industrial parks and 6 townships, leased a total of 2.5m square feet of office and retail spaces with total market capitalisation of RM1.14 billion fund and RM3 billion assets under management.  JLG has also partnered in high growth potential sectors of logistics, data centres and renewable energy.

Sustainability

JCorp has developed its Sustainability Framework and established a Board of Sustainability Committee. The corporation have set their target to achieve net zero status by 2050.

References