Another problem was that Malaysian did not get much benefit from the investment because the contracts for this project were awarded to Chinese contractors who bring in workers and equipment from China

Driving toward the island from the highway, and seeing the towering residential units with hanging gardens rise out of the surrounding palm oil plantations bordering the sea, was surreal. The novelty of the concept, the sheer scale of the project exemplified by the sales gallery model, and the unaffordablility of the property captivated most locals. Nowadays, the duty-free liquor stores and the artifical beach remain the only draws.

Like many other Chinese real estate projects it was a very good way for people to take money out of china going around the restrictions of taking out more than 15.000$/year before the real estate cap of 50.000$/ year. Now it is too expensive and Chinese businessman use other gray systems to move capital out. I see the same on many countries.

I remember watching videos about Chinese ‘ghost cities’ a few years back. These were entire cities built from scratch but turned out to be empty after construction. What happened with those? It seems this story is similar.

This project was backed by Beijing, to give Beijing the ability to tell Singapore, "do as I say, or I copy your model and take your business away." I am so glad it failed.

As a construction engineer that has built structures on reclaimed land, I will say it takes 20 years or more for the sand to settle properly. Country Garden reclaimed from the sea and hence beyond the piled foundations, much of the island is still sinking. Recently, certain roads or parts caved in. I presume the buildings are piled to bedrock and I presume the bedrock in that part of sea is not that deep (from 35 M to 50 M deep). Any settlement of the buildings will be showing up by now but none has happened. I presume the buildings are safe but the land will continue to settle for many more years.

I am Malaysian- one of the main cause of the failure of this project was when the Chinese govt stops the outflow of foreign exchange out of China- they were targeting Chinese buyers

Oh wow! I worked for Country Garden in Shende. Our building looked cool with semi real vegetation on the outside. What a mess of a company, I only lasted 6 months before I was canned while on a trip to Nanjing

Even from the beginning, I was strongly in doubt about this project. - environmental concern - those poor mangrooves that they destroyed - workers from china flooded our state (some or most are illegal, by the way) - they target foreign investor (it's volatile in itself) - over saturated of condo - unstable market - unstable govt

I know investors are crying but if they can’t develop the other 3 islands I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

The project makes no sense at all. There are lots of empty undeveloped lands in Malaysia. To create an island and build on it sounds unnecessarily expensive. Its not like Dubai where the government is willing to sink billions to create the islands for bragging rights. Malaysia is a relatively poor country and land is cheap. The Chinese developers got too greedy.

Before it was built, I expected this to be a flop. You can't have access to Singapore when there is a congested bridge and the train between Singapore and JB was not build yet. JB has so much cheap land, why even bother to reclaim land from sea. Singapore is building a polder to counter rising sea levels. I doubt Forest City had anticipated this future problem for the 4 islands. JB will get a city like Venice.

Nothing more green and sustainable then artificial islands lol

Singapore built over a million units of “dwelling units”, since 1965, over a period of 50+ years. There is enough economic developments & progress to support “income” and to buy a property….. what are Johor’s economic plans to support the whole Iskandar project of half a millions houses ?

This is a norm in Malaysia. There was no overwhelming strong demand from overseas investors. The existing housing in Nusajaya and so many projects there were mostly unfinished. Many bought at first and bailed. The surrounding luxury country club project near was scrapped as well, this was before the shutdown in 2020. The island is theoretically a dead end and far from the city center. It was an over-stretched idea and had no revenue model. It was cheap money that spurred the development. Interesting part is who is going to pay for this failed investment.

The one thing that tech vapourware (Hyperloop, Spinlaunch) and real estate vapourware (forrest city) have in common is beautiful CGI renderings. I'm getting more and more wary every time I see a non-existent product advertised with CGI "demos".

Went to the golf resort last year. The developer didn't even bother to turn on the street lights at night

I've been to Malaysia many times. It is a wonderful place full of friendly people. Its prosperous and safe and does not need to be accepting Chinese money or influence.

Great video as usual 👌👌

It is a hideous blight on the landscape. So much of primary endangered rainforests are already replaced with horrible palm plantations, and now this montrostericity. My relatives in Singapore are disgusted by this. There is no amount of habitat restoration that can compensate for the dredged sand fill to make these "islands." Environmental disaster!

I heard they give away free apartment in Forest City when a Chinese buyer bought a unit in China from Country Garden.

the reality will ALWAYS pale in comparison to the amazing computer mock ups for any construction project

What mic setup do you use because the audio? The reason I ask is because your mic used to be better but now it sounds like it’s coming from laptop mic! Also love your videos learned sooo much from your Channel alone

There's a consistent trend in Chinese companies: lack of transparency, although if people know where to look major problems can easily be found. Andrew Left (Citron Research) published his report on Evergrande nearly 10 years before their business model caught up with them. Country Garden probably has plenty of bad assets which are unaccounted for, making their books look much more attractive than they have any right to be. Fantasia has fallen, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the giant developers follow.

What a win for Malaysia. 700.000 units for Malaysians. In JB it’s full of ghost flats that are just money banks. I rented a very nice apartment there but in the block of 500 units around 10 apartment lights were on at night.

Building a forest city in an area known for mosquito borne viruses. great idea. Add to that you're right next to a port, power plant, oil refinery and heavy manufacturing industries.

nobody: Chinese developers: "You know what would be cool? A whole city in Antarctica."

This was doomed to fail becuse 2nd homes can never be sustainable. Areas of 2nd homes are simply empty large parts of the year and become ghost towns. Owners hope to rent to air B&B or holiday lets, but this soon brings an area down and there is not the market in a location like this. As the properties age then annual service charges mount up. But was the true business model an escape route for Chinese fleeing the CCP but concealed as 2nd homes? They could move their money out, and get residency and the cost would be justified if the CCP continued to run China into the ground or take it to war. Now the CCP has changed the rules and closed the door these properties have no value to Chinese buyers. Something that I noticed in the promo pictures is that most "digital people" look to be white westerners, is part of the sales pitch "its not China"?

Say what you will about Country Garden but their early bird Buffet for seniors is amazing. Try the pot pie.

This City will look like a dystopian sci fi place after few years

From the lighthouse marina in Singapore, I think Forest city can be seen. I am not sure what was the status but I thought there were lights on it.

For such a huge investment, the developers did not do a good job researching the political environment and stability of the country.

Chinese really did not think it threw especially about the political issues before starting this project, it is so stupid that one can ask how anybody in charge could give green light to this project.

The wisest thing that should be on every wise individual's list is to invest in different stream of income and don't depend on the government to bring in money especially now the pandemic is hitting the economy

For Malaysia, the risk is simple: 700,000 units mean 1.2 million Chinese can migrate into Malaysia and create another Singapore. Malaysia wants to compete with Singapore, not to invite a Chinese colony.

Well done, good report.

In Northern Thailand, there are similar Chinese enclaves but I didnt stay long enough to find out whether they are occupied.

Excessive risk taking? I don't think so. Excessive cheap financing yes, the company borrows heavily in the name of making grandiose investments, which they know from the outset will lead to heavy losses, these isn't any chance of turning a profit. Instead the grand price tag and ilarge investments are a way to funnel money to some of the key decision makers behind the scenes. Once that is done, the public shareholders of the company are the one left holding the bag.

Just wondering about a brand new international school there, stating on their website it's fully operational. If there are only 500 residents presently on the island, how is this working out for the school??!!

Thank you Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Truly our savior as a Malaysian citizen.

Damn..... i used to see Evergrande container come and go from port to street. Now everytime i see Evergrande container parked in port there is police line and court order.

This is literally my favorite channel on the internet

The huge project is in bad shape at the moment. It looks good on the surface at first. Somehow, there have been undisclosable under-counter dealings among the developers and the government(s). An old autocrat purposely and practically axed it in 2018/2019..

Islands could also have pillars (like latched for disassembly). To put a noodle on the bottom for floating removal.

You forgot to mention the high speed railway project to Singapore is cancelled by the Malaysian government .

Forest City เป็นเมกะโปรเจ็กต์มูลค่า 100 พันล้านดอลลาร์ ตั้งอยู่ในรัฐยะโฮร์ มาเลเซีย ซึ่งพัฒนาโดย Country Garden ผู้พัฒนาอสังหาริมทรัพย์รายใหญ่ที่สุดของจีน เป็นเกาะเทียมนอกชายฝั่งมาเลเซียและอยู่ใกล้กับสิงคโปร์ เดิมทีมันควรจะเป็นบ้านอพาร์ทเมนต์หรูหราเพื่อขายให้กับชาวจีนชนชั้นกลางผู้มั่งคั่ง อย่างไรก็ตาม ความตึงเครียดทางการเมืองระหว่างมาเลเซียและจีนทำให้การพัฒนาโครงการหยุดชะงักลง ในวิดีโอนี้ เราจะอธิบายว่า Forest City คืออะไร สถานะปัจจุบันของการพัฒนา และผลกระทบที่มีต่อ Country Garden

Tofu island...made in Xi-na is a real 🦠

As a malaysian i can tell this project is a scam. Most of the buyers of forest city are from chuna and other countries

One ghost city among many.

Too bad they didn't develop a digital version of this where they could sell it for the equivalent price of a real life house. They could of made it work 🤣

I'll bet good money that any further construction on Forest City from this point on will be tofu dreg construction...

What happened to the music? I liked the background music lol

These types of projects totally ignore the facts that sea levels are rising!

The builders biggest mistake is just to look for Chinese residents. They should of looked for people from a diverse international community example Europe and the United States

Last time I heard about it, I think it was turning into a jungle overwhelmed with insects

I want to buy This Park for my playground 😍😍😍

how much to sell now? I like to buy if price is attractive

I love this channel

When i was growing up in China, Country Garden had commercials all the time. If you have a house from them, it's like you made it in China

Another developer hiding their liabilities? *shocker*

We, as in the Global Community, are in store for a *Major* Financial Re-adjustment - Considering what is happening right now I'm guessing it should hit 3rd quarter of next year. This is gonna make 2007 seem quaint in comparison ~

Pipe dream !

Didn’t Dubai try this, with a tremendous financial loss?

crazy, i met developer in canada years ago, They chose to Maylasia's articial island, Investors and developer will be big loss. Takes hours to just clear visa in Maylasia, investors end up to sell a fraction of their investments.

Where can i invest in malaysian urban exploration channels?

Wait till you find a Malaysia stock exchange listed company and try do a research, it is even more worst than you expect. HINT: Serba Dinamik. Anyway, this is a good video as business with Malaysia does comes with risk, rocky political risk, mixed with corruption and nepotism from a point of view as a Malaysian myself.

Another mirage Chinese project.... i was always sceptical about the rise of the Chinese economy deep inside i knew it was a bubble created by an extensive leveraging and a lot of debts, fundamentally it was wrong because a politically communist regime can not run a country with a capitalist financial system, those are opposites which impossible to have both of them in one place, it was just a matter of time for them to clash, and it did happen recently. This is the dawn of the second largest economy in the world.

Lesson learned: Never bet against Nature , no matter how much money you have !!!

Greetings from PERU Evergrand is more political no economic

What happens as sea level continues to rise ???

The only selling point is close proximity to Singapore. Malaysians who work here probably wouldnt buy it either. So who is their target market? Also does it have to be an island? it seems wasteful since johor has a lot of unused land

It is not easy to make money in Malaysia. Many Singaporeans have lost money investing in Malaysian properties. Seems like now it's the Chinese turn to lose money. I'm sure some foreigners are able to do so but I hear more money-losing stories than money-making ones.

The biggest and best ego trip story I’ve ever heard about in my entire life. The madness continues. 🇦🇺🦘

They should construct direct link to Singapore by bridge or tunnel, only cars. Who wants the hectic of crossing the causeway.

Chinese developer Country Garden is facing huge losses on its artificial island project, Forest City, in Malaysia. The project, which was originally estimated to cost $100 billion, has been beset by problems since its inception. One of the biggest problems is that the project has not been able to attract enough buyers. As of 2022, only about 10% of the apartments in Forest City have been sold. This is due in part to the fact that the project is located in a remote area of Malaysia, and it is also due to the fact that the prices of the apartments are very high. Another problem with the project is that it has caused environmental damage. The construction of the artificial islands has disrupted the natural ecosystem of the area, and it has also caused the loss of mangrove forests. As a result of these problems, Country Garden is estimated to have lost billions of dollars on the Forest City project. The company has said that it is still committed to the project, but it is unclear if it will ever be able to make a profit on it. Here are some of the factors that have contributed to the losses on the Forest City project:

We can do things bigger but not better !!!

If our financial system is precariously leveraged on a mountain of debt and corruption I can only imagine what it is really like in China once the curtain is raised.

It has been said before, but I feel it needs to b stated again, MEGA-PROJECTS lose money. Invest in good business practices from the ground up. Small businesses grow, reducing their barriers to growth always yields better results than billions into mega projects with theoretical benefits.

It's gonna be a huge GHOST CITY instead of Forest City.

Crossing the border takes 3-4 hours typically, doesn't make sense to buy this property if you plan to send ur kids to Singapore to study or yourself to work.

The moment it was conceived I already know that it will fail cos Malaysia is well known for building property halfway and leaving it unfinished for good cos every politician in Malaysia all want to dip their hands into the honey jar.

Okay all thats nice but can we get like a boat from forest city to singapore Tuas rightr next to the MRT station or a new checkpoint right after tuas from singapore. So that Singaporeans would buy and live in forest city than elsewhere. Like a special Singapore to Malaysia access only bypassing the long Tuas checkpoint to Sultan checkpoint. that would speed up the travelling process and make mroe singaporeans move there.

Chinese built = tofu dreg

This makes me happy. Anything to keep the Chinese in China is a good thing!

Project this size is to line d pockets of d people who approved n involved. D new government will definitely stop d project unless further grease money is negotiate. There r many projects in Johore n other parts of Malaysia suffered d same fate. It happens in Philippines too where u see a change of President every six years. With projects of this size everybody wants to be involved....

The johor crown price say it is not a failure

damn did the artificial island ever get finished???

Failed .. to unsustainabilty thinking it will make profits.. this company must find it not worth to invest after all . Rich Malaysians bought houses in Australia , New Zealand , Europe , Canada and US where the beauty of those houses same standard as they paid . I have been several countries around the world those people have amazing houses . If the foreigners bought the apartment here they are paying enormous taxes to maintain the whole complexs when their house so compact so small . Stupid to invest in this kind apartments when Singapore and Beijing plus Shanghai have same design . THE WORST PART THE QUALITIES OF THESE BUILDINGS QUESTIONABLE ON CLAIM AREA .. MEANS SAND FILL ? NOT TO MENTION QUICK SAND TO ABSORB THESE BUILDINGS LATER . NOW THE CRACKS STARTED TO APPEAR .. HOW? MADE IN CHINA!

I thought I could work in whatever requiring Engineering `remote`.

It's like "pay by every 15sec."

it will not be surprising if country garden requests malaysian govt to buy over its stake in forest city..

Any else see logo and think “Old Country Buffet”?

"was going to be", are the key words here.

Could you do a video on SEC's lawsuit against Ripple labs? Just about everyone in the crypto community thinks the SEC is in the wrong.

It's located near SE Asia too (for more Desi connotations for Asians).

The "boondogglers" should have learnt from the Dubai Palm Islands BS.

Saudi King : Hold my sword.

wall street atlas is a place to learn more.

there r lands that you can build, but you construct a whole island. Good thought

Could you turn down the high frequencies in your audio? I hear an awful high pitched chirping in most of your videos which makes it impossible to listen as loud as i would like. Thanks!