SG Talk

Malaysia’s $100B ghost town: Forest City trying very hard to pull tourists in, but it’s just not working

https://theindependent.sg/malaysias-100b...t-working/

Creepy place people not interested
Not a good investment

forest city remain a forest without much human being.

Hainan haihua island, a much bigger project, was also almost failed and doomed to be a mega ghost island, now doing quite well

天不时，地不利，最重要的是人不和，此事古难全。

in the 1st place why need to reclaim fr the sea to build adding enormous cost as there is vast land parcels near to the sea.
country gardens need to comply to johore demand to reclaim the sea b4 can build ?
deliberately did so to challenge spore ?

(26-03-2024, 06:29 AM)Bigiron Wrote: [ -> ]Malaysia’s $100B ghost town: Forest City trying very hard to pull tourists in, but it’s just not working

https://theindependent.sg/malaysias-100b...t-working/

The main reason why this project even had any appeal in the first place was the accompanied long term visa for foreigners that came with it, but the Malaysian government kept flip flopping on its visa policies so it's hardly surprising demand has withered.

To date purchasers have gone through 3 sets of policies since the project was developed:

1) Najib phase - Very liberal visa almost sold as part of the project
2) Dr M - 180 degree turn to tightening, essentially whipping out most investors' visas
3) Post Dr M - Lots of rumors / news of tweaks again
4) Anwar - Loosened visa policy again, somewhere in between Najib and Dr M now

There's actually a community of retired Singaporeans there because we don't need a long term visa due to proximity but it's relatively small compared to the size of the project.

If it has potential, Malaysian will be the first to invest in it. 

Being near to Singapore is not a great advantage, many condominiums in JB are much nearer to CIQ, and built onto mainland. Not on reclaim land.
This fact already kills the investment value. Cannot compete with other Condominium projects in JB.

The initial marketing strategy was to attract the Chinese in China, not familiar about JB/Singapore locals investment demand. 
Just use Singapore's high property price to benchmark with FC Condominium. 
Unfortunately, it flops badly. The Chinese is not so naive as the developer thought.

The real potential of JB Condominium should be those built near to RTS Station. With existing infrastructures services. 

FC only hope to attract buyers, residents, is to lower the price towards Malaysian liking. 
Only the JB locals can enjoy such low price benefits, with special grants from the Malaysian government. 
Kind of like the HDB bto for Singaporean policy. Help all Malaysian to own property in JB comfortably.

If you have extra money and get a discount, blindly buying a unit in Carnelian Tower will do. The land is 99 years lease. Still has 50 years for them to slowly transform. The rest are outside your capability. For a development to be successful, you need the local government support but Crooked M. had shown otherwise.

wait for announcements on hsr station or rts extension to fc, then see how. Now cheap could be cheaper

The problem is not with not enough tourists but with local residents. Without locals, the business there cannot sustain a critical mass of customers so they all closed. When tourists come and the shops are closed, of course they will never visit again.

(26-03-2024, 09:57 AM)maxsanic Wrote: [ -> ]The main reason why this project even had any appeal in the first place was the accompanied long term visa for foreigners that came with it, but the Malaysian government kept flip flopping on its visa policies so it's hardly surprising demand has withered.

To date purchasers have gone through 3 sets of policies since the project was developed:

1) Najib phase - Very liberal visa almost sold as part of the project
2) Dr M - 180 degree turn to tightening, essentially whipping out most investors' visas
3) Post Dr M - Lots of rumors / news of tweaks again
4) Anwar - Loosened visa policy again, somewhere in between Najib and Dr M now

There's actually a community of retired Singaporeans there because we don't need a long term visa due to proximity but it's relatively small compared to the size of the project.

if true then their marketing quite failed. don't even know there is a visa advantaged. 
they must advertise it big big.  and heard foreigner can buy at rm500k nonknow true or not.
if true another big plus.

just buy one and keep like for rest point in malaysia

Better forget it for now, 说来说去都是一样地。look at rts vicinity more opportunities

The only way to get people to stay is sell the units at dirt cheap price. No maintenance fees are to be collected for 1 year. 

The next thing you know the whole place will be bustling with lives

if buy, who is going to be responsible for the maintenance for the property, developer already run road

(26-03-2024, 03:32 PM)wulala Wrote: [ -> ]if buy, who is going to be responsible for the maintenance for the property, developer already run road

Once the developer hands over the unit on TOP, full payment or loans, usually, they are no longer responsible. The responsibility lies in the building management company.

LKS also run the roads a lot of times.

(26-03-2024, 03:38 PM)theold Wrote: [ -> ]Once the developer hands over the unit on TOP, full payment or loans, usually, they are no longer responsible. The responsibility lies in the building management company.

question is now developer already run road before full project is completed. how they hand over? and if after few years, residents realize some structures violate the safety regulation, who to sue?

(26-03-2024, 08:42 AM)K88 shu shu Wrote: [ -> ]forest city remain a forest without much human being.

soon it will be rename jungle city...

Aiya dun always laugh at others lah. Look at yourself, a big df whole day sit at home, waiting for mama to feed you. Worse right?

https://www.scmp.com/video/scmp-explains...en-crashed

(26-03-2024, 03:43 PM)wulala Wrote: [ -> ]question is now developer already run road before full project is completed. how they hand over? and if after few years, residents realize some structures violate the safety regulation, who to sue?

If residents already staying, this means already handover. You receive the unit in good order. The handover is in phases once the building is completed.  The responsibility of maintenance is on the management-MCST. Overseas, the building management makes their own decision. If you did not pay for the management fee, they can take control of your unit. They can also lease out those units under their management as you did not pay them. Sometimes, they also play punk. They can also issue their own summons.

For defects, if you call the developer, they will refer you back to the management office-MSCT. This office will refer you to 3rd party companies. For most defects, you find your own pure LOCAL repairman is cheaper. Then again you need the management office's approval.

Sometimes, they can sue the developer when it is still around. The building management company can also change hand. For shopping centres, the developer will have their own management company. They can sell the management of the building to another company. End up, you find one company managing a lot of buildings.

(26-03-2024, 03:09 PM)sclim Wrote: [ -> ]if true then their marketing quite failed. don't even know there is a visa advantaged. 
they must advertise it big big.  and heard foreigner can buy at rm500k nonknow true or not.
if true another big plus.

just buy one and keep like for rest point in malaysia

I think their marketing is quite OK, from what I can see on the Chinese online community at that time, the China marketing agents made it abundantly clear that the units there qualify for long term residency and some even heavily implied they provided a "one dragon service" to help investors deal with immigration and move their money out of the country.

In Singapore we probably don't get sold on this idea because a Malaysia long term visa has limited appeal to us: Firstly we are already visa free getting into Malaysia, secondly most of the Singaporean investors for JB properties are either there because they can't afford to speculate on Singapore properties due to too high per unit cost here and/or just want a retirement home there to enjoy lower cost of living while popping by Singapore frequently for admin / social matters.

Just pick a random number between 1 and 8, maybe ok to have good lucky nos, maybe Mrt or SMRT is extend to them lehh...

(26-03-2024, 08:42 AM)K88 shu shu Wrote: [ -> ]forest city remain a forest without much human being.

This is for Mrt or for SMRT to extent to them...

If they build the link to forest city, confirm alot investors liao. But flip flop standard msia style. Even Milo dinosaur cannot save it. But there is a TAN in forest city. He will uplift every value of it. Singlehandedly.

Hainan haihuadao much bigger and almost failed several times. Fc can learn from them

Only the Malaysian can save FC, at affordable price with only grants for Malaysia citizens. 

Malaysian politicians and the bumiputera will never allow a 700k Chinese nationals enclave. Not even for the Singaporean Chinese too.
FC marketing strategy of targeting Chinese buyers was wrong from the beginning. 
Politicians like Dr M will be around to storm the Chinese City Project with vengeance.

Even with a periodically shoppers from Singapore also raised strong political social commotion over rising cost of living in JB. 
Malaysia or JB locals/ Bumiputera is not ready to accept massive influx of foreigners occupying their land. 
Let alone accepting a big group of Chinese race foreigner. 

That's the main difference between HK/SZ SEZ and SG/JB SEZ.
HK and SZ are of the same Chinese race and nationality, under the same CCP rules. 
SG and JB are of different Races, and under different Government with own national and political interests.

ghost town means ghost town no one wants to go.

(30-03-2024, 07:46 AM)animeonegai Wrote: [ -> ]If they build the link to forest city, confirm alot investors liao. But flip flop standard msia style. Even Milo dinosaur cannot save it. But there is a TAN in forest city. He will uplift every value of it. Singlehandedly.

You mean a causeway link to SG?

Totally not possible. 
Because it add no economical advantage to SG with such a huge cost project. Plus SG already capped their vehicle ownership in Singapore. Why would they want more vehicles driving into SG?

With the upcoming driving charges on Singapore's roads accordingly to mileages. Malaysian drivers will kpkb the high driving cost. Quite sure there will be lesser driving into Singapore for the future.

Maybe the Malaysian can extend RTS Station to FC. But it will not help much, if the target of FC marketing is only for the foreigner richies. Normally they hated public transport. And concern over personal safety, especially at night.

Covert a few blocks to brothels massage vip units run by china ccp ah tiong better....since its their expertise.