Due to a lack of financial guarantees from the Malaysian government, major Japanese companies have withdrawn their participation in the planned high-speed rail (HSR) project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. East Japan Railway Co (JR East) was one of the companies that intended to utilise the Japanese Shinkansen HSR technology for the project. Now the Japanese companies consider the project too risky without financial support from Malaysia. The deadline for the submission of design proposals under a Request for Information (RFI) for the project is 14th January 2024. State-owned company MyHSR had extended the original deadline of 15th November 2023 after more than 60% of the participating companies requested additional time to form consortia with potential partners and explore financial options for the project. The HSR project is expected to cost €19.1 billion (MYR 100 billion) and is to be financed through a public-private partnership (PPP).
