Industry Dynamics in Growth Triangles: The E&E Industry in SIJORI 25 Years On

Abstract

The SIJORI Growth Triangle, which encompasses Singapore, Johor (Malaysia) and Batam Island (Indonesia), was launched in 1989 as a ‘single investment destination’ offering differing factor endowments in close proximity. Singapore was the ‘core’ of the region with Johor and Batam occupying the land, labour, and resource-intensive ‘non-core’ spaces. During the 1990s, investment flows into the three territories, particularly in the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry, mirrored this division of labour. Through scrutinizing trends in E&E firm entries, nationality, and industry branch in Singapore, Johor, and Batam for the 1993-2012/14 period, this article sheds light on the recent evolution of the E&E sector in the erstwhile Growth Triangle. In doing so, it seeks to establish whether the core/non-core division of labour still persists and whether Johor and Batam have been able to successfully capture product spaces being vacated by Singapore as it upgrades.