Country Garden: What is the current situation in Forest City?
– Road connecting Malay Peninsula and artificial island collapses –
-Malaysia project with $100 billion investment-
We will deliver a summary of NNA ASIA articles.
Country Garden’s deteriorating management:
Biguien Holdings, a major Chinese real estate company listed in Hong Kong, will handle the project.
Country Garden Holdings is currently facing serious financial deterioration.
unprecedented huge project
A new city is being built on an artificial island in Johor, Malaysia.
Total project cost: 100 billion USD (14.77 trillion yen)
Where will this unprecedentedly huge project go in the future?
We covered the latest local situation.
Forest City:
It is located just 2 kilometers from Singapore in a straight line.
Tuas, western Singapore:
Pass through the border checkpoint and cross the border bridge “Second Link”.
If you look at the map, it’s a great location, but if you look at the reality, you’ll be disappointed.
Forest City Marina Hotel:
We stayed at the Forest City Landmark.
I visited on a weekday in early September. “According to the woman at the front desk, there are no vacancies today.”
I am curious about the actual occupancy rate of the 283 guest rooms.
Singapore group:
I heard the news about Hekkeien’s default.
That’s why I’m worried about whether the Marina Hotel is really functioning.
Residential area around the hotel:
With the exception of cleaners and other workers, the number of residents has decreased dramatically.
The restaurants on the first floor of the apartment are almost exclusively Chinese restaurants.
There is also a supermarket that sells Chinese food and daily necessities.
However, there is no sense of quality of life to support the 9,000 residents.
The original concept was a city of 700,000 people:
Forest City was developed in 2015 by Byekeien and a local company with support from the Johor royal family and the government.
Four artificial islands straddling Malaysia and Singapore were reclaimed and created.
Huge housing and office construction projects. The plan is to eventually house 700,000 people.
Biguien’s huge deficit:
Most recently, it came close to defaulting on bond interest payments.
In the interim period ending June 2023, the company had a large net loss of RMB 48,932 million (990 billion yen).
Hekkeien releases a statement:
On August 28, a statement was released stating that “Forest City will proceed as planned.”
“Business is safe and stable”
“Real estate sales on artificial islands are also going well,” he emphasized.
Forest City Transportation:
The reason Forest City is inconvenient is its weak transportation infrastructure.
There are 3 shuttle bus routes. But at most it’s about one per hour.
It is impossible to use a taxi:
Few people stay on this artificial island for sightseeing.
There are no taxis because demand is low.
Artificial island on reclaimed land:
On July 23rd, a collapse accident occurred on the access road connecting the Malay Peninsula and the artificial island.
The weak ground of the artificial island, which is reclaimed land, is a drawback.
A temporary road is currently in use.
Shattuck St. Mary’s opens:
Shattuck St. Mary’s, headquartered in Minnesota, has opened its doors.
The school opened in the summer of 2018 with a curriculum from kindergarten to high school.
Number of students: 160:
Before, most of them were Chinese. Currently, 40% are Koreans.
Many are not Forest City residents. Students commute to school from nearby areas.