Forest City, Country Garden Holdings’s mega-development off Malaysia’s southern coast, will be designated a special financial zone and will be granted benefits aimed at attracting more residents, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.
The incentives will include multiple-entry visas, fast-track access for those working in Singapore and a flat income tax rate of 15% for knowledge workers, Anwar said Friday while on tour seeking feedback on his government’s 2024 budget. The incentives will come on top of Forest City’s existing tax breaks, which include duty-free liquor sales.
Distressed China-based developer Country Garden a decade ago began building Forest City in the narrow strait between Malaysia and Singapore. It was meant to be an eco-friendly hub comprising four artificial islands and 700,000 residents, which would be built over a few decades and cost upwards of US$100 billion.
The project has been beset by challenges. Only a fraction of the total land mass and buildings have been completed so far. Country Garden has said 9,000 people currently live in Forest City.
Country Garden, once China’s biggest developer, is facing a worsening cash crunch and and has as much as US$2.9 billion of bond payments due before the end of the year. The company has delayed a deadline for holders of a yuan bond to vote on its plan to extend payment, a last-minute change as the company seeks to avert its first default.
