Foreigners welcome in Forest City project: Johor chief minister

Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia

THE chief minister of the Malaysian state of Johor said on Tuesday foreigners are welcome to buy property in Chinese developer Country Garden's controversial US$100 billion Forest City project on Malaysia's southern shore.

Forest City is a 30-year project that provides jobs for Malaysians, chief minister Osman Sapian said, in comments that appeared to contradict Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's vow last week to prevent foreigners from buying housing in the project.

"The Johor government believes that Malaysia has comprehensive laws that protect the rights of foreign investors and companies, including purchasing property," Mr Osman told a briefing.

"The Johor government believes that the federal government is able to be fair in protecting foreign companies that run operations in Malaysia," he said.

The comments appear unlikely to ease confusion surrounding the fate of the giant project, which had already faced much uncertainty, following Dr Mahathir's pledge last week.

Chinese buyers account for about two-thirds of Forest City units sold so far. A fifth are from Malaysia and the rest from 22 other countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea.

"Country Garden Pacificview is always providing economic benefits from the project to local agencies," Mr Osman said, referring to the joint venture between the Chinese developer and the Johor state.

The project will create more than 9,000 jobs in the construction sector, he added. REUTERS