The Lower House of the Malaysian ParliamentrecentlyThrough five important bills proposed by the Ministry of Finance, Forest City First Island in Johor has been officially designated as a tax-free island. This move aims to promote the economic development of the region and fully utilize the Singapore economySpillover effectTo create new economic attractiveness for Malaysia and the international community. Vice Minister of Finance Lin Huiying concluded the debate by stating that the implementation of the duty-free island policy will bring unprecedented development opportunities for forest cities.

The Forest City project, as a large-scale comprehensive development project jointly developed by Chinese developer Country Garden Group and the Johor governmentSince its construction began in 2013, it has been highly regarded. The project is planned to be developed in nine phases over the next 20 years, with a total investment of approximately RM450 billion (approximately SGD129.4 billion). The expansion of the duty-free island policy marks a new stage in the development of the project.

Chen Huitian, an analyst who has been studying the Johor real estate market for a long time, pointed out that as early asIn 2016, former Prime Minister Najib announced that Forest City was a tax-free zone, and this time the tax-free area has been expanded to the entire First Island. He emphasized that the duty-free island policy is expected to greatly promote the development of forest cities in various fields such as tourism and commerce, injecting new vitality into the project. However, he also reminded investors that before deciding on investment direction, they still need to observe how the authorities implement these policies in detail.

Johor State Chairman of the Malaysian Real Estate Development Association, Chen Lingli, welcomes the duty-free island policy, believing that it will help boost local economic vitality. But she also stated that she has not yet seen any specific policies related to real estate, and the chamber of commerce is closely monitoring the government's follow-up information.

It is worth noting that the duty-free island policy has also raised questions from some lawmakers. Johor's Brazilian Gudang District Councilor Hassan Karin questioned the fairness of the government allowing foreigners to purchase freehold real estate in Forest City during a debate, pointing out that this is inconsistent with Malaysian citizens' purchases of such propertiesThere is a significant difference in the 90 year land deed. However, Deputy Minister of Finance Lin Huiying did not directly respond to this question, only stating that she would convey this view to relevant departments.

In addition, rumors about the debt crisis of Country Garden and the stagnant development of the Forest City project have also attracted widespread market attention. But according to the Financial Times, the Forest City project has been taken over by the Malaysian joint venture and is actively adjusting its development direction. Malaysian Head of State Sultan Ibrahim, as one of the indirect shareholders of the project, is also actively involved in and promoting the future development of the project.

Despite facing certain market challenges and doubts, the Malaysian government has introduced multiple policies over the past year to boost the development of forest cities. The financial special zone policy announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last year, as well as the proposed plan for the Johor Bahru Economic Zone, which may include Forest City, have provided strong support for the future development of the project. Officials have revealed that some government agencies may relocate to Forest City within this year to further promote the economic development of the region.