Malaysia passes law to establish duty-free zone in Forest City

Malaysia passed regulations that will enable an island under the Forest City development to be gazetted a duty-free zone as part of efforts to revive the struggling megacity. 

The lower house of Parliament on Wednesday approved five amendment bills to turn Pulau Satu into a duty-free island, along with Labuan, Langkawi, Tioman and Pangkor. The law is now subject to the senate’s approval.

The move follows an announcement by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last year to designate Forest City as a special financial zone. The government is also close to finalizing a deal with Singapore to develop a cross-border economic zone that is likely to include the mega property project to boost trade and connectivity between Malaysia’s southern Johor state and the island nation. 

Forest City, a $100 billion megacity project by Country Garden Holdings Co., has been beset by challenges since building began a decade ago. King Ibrahim Iskandar — who hails from Johor — had said in December that he would push for a revival of the high-speed rail line between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to be routed through the development.