Mahathir Mohamad ‘could send wrong message’ with warning for foreign investors in Malaysia’s Forest City
Comments could backfire at a time when the country should court Chinese investors, says chairman of Malaysian Chamber of Commerce in China
Malaysia’s decision to examine overseas ownership in the country’s largest residential property project Forest City could send the “wrong message” to foreign investors and have wider effects, the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce in China has warned.
Investment projects have been plunged into uncertainty since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad returned to power in May. The 93-year-old has called off three Chinese-backed infrastructure megaprojects and on Monday shocked many when he declared that foreigners would not be allowed to buy property at Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings’ US$100 billion Forest City project in the state of Johor, bordering Singapore.
Mahathir said his country was “not going to give visas for people to come and live here”, according to Reuters.
However, Malaysia’s Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin was quoted by Malay Mail as saying the government was still reviewing the project.
The development has added a further challenge in the already delicately balanced relations between China and Malaysia.
It has also injected uncertainty into Malaysia’s My Second Home programme, which allows wealthy foreigners to invest and live in the Southeast Asian nation on a long-stay visa, with Chinese nationals being the largest group to do so.
