The Finance Minister announced the planned talks when presenting Budget 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat on October 9. The federal government and Sarawak are to work out an incentive framework, a one-stop investment facilitation centre and strategic infrastructure needs.

For businesses considering Sibu, these are the details that would determine how the zone works: what support an investor can qualify for, how approvals are handled and what infrastructure is required. The announcement does not yet provide an incentive schedule, an application route or a date for the centre to open.

This is a step towards defining the zone, not a notice that it is already operating. Its precise boundaries and implementation timetable were not set out in the announcement. The next concrete milestone is a negotiated framework that businesses can actually use.