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China’s largest property developer Country Garden unveiled Forest City - a $100bn (£78.9bn) mega-project under the Belt and Road Initiative - in 2016.
At the time, the Chinese property boom was in full flow. Developers were borrowing colossal sums of money to build both home and abroad for middle-class buyers.
In Malaysia, Country Garden’s plan was to build an eco-friendly metropolis featuring a golf course, waterpark, offices, bars and restaurants. The company said Forest City would eventually be home to nearly one million people.
Eight years on, it stands as a barren reminder that you do not need to be in China to feel the effects of its property crisis. Currently, only 15% of the entire project has been built and, according to recent estimates, just over 1% of the total development is occupied.
Despite facing debts of nearly $200bn, Country Garden told the BBC it is “optimistic” the full plan will be completed.
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Maybe I’ll be able to afford a beachside apartment afterall
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In a surreal touch, there is an empty children’s train doing endless laps around the mall while playing “Heads, shoulders, knees and toes” on loop in Chinese.
In 2018, Malaysia’s then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad restricted visas for Chinese buyers, citing his objection to a “city built for foreigners”.
Other unexpected issues, such as Covid travel restrictions and controls on how much money Chinese citizens could spend abroad, have especially hampered overseas projects launched by giants such as Country Garden.
In the end, the Chinese company was given a six week reprieve to agree on a repayment plan with its creditors as the judge adjourned the hearing for a seventh time.
It also said plans to include Forest City in a new special economic zone between Malaysia and neighbouring Singapore showed the project was “safe and stable”.
Some local factors may have contributed to the current situation, but it is proof that building tens of thousands of apartments in the middle of nowhere is not enough to convince people to live there.
The original article contains 1,437 words, the summary contains 172 words. Saved 88%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Meanwhile the prices are kept out of reach of the average Malaysia. It’s fucked up.
