Singapore – Forest City, one of Southeast Asia’s largest mixed-use green developments and a joint venture project by Hong Kong-listed Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd and Johor’s Esplanade Danga 88 Sdn Bhd, has been granted a duty-free zone status and a slew of incentives by the Federal Government of Malaysia.

In announcing the incentives at the grand opening ceremony of Forest City on 6 March 2016, Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak said: “To ensure the success of Forest City, I am pleased to declare duty free zone area at Forest City, enabling local residents, businesses and tourists to benefit from the work, live and play environment.”

Other incentives that were announced include corporate tax incentive for qualified companies or companies with Iskandar Development Region status involved in tourism and MICE, education and healthcare, corporate tax incentive for Green Developer and Green Development Manager and a waiver on company equity restriction for foreign investors to claim these incentives.

His Royal Highness Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, the Sultan of Johor, Chief Minister of Johor Y.A.B Dato’ Mohamed Khaled Nordin and several distinguished guests and business partners graced the event.

Being a green development, Forest City is also working with G-Energy, an international green consultant, towards achieving internationally-recognised GreenRE and Green Mark certifications.
In addition, Forest City has also achieved Iskandar Development Region (IDR) status development for tourism and MICE (meeting, incentives, conference and exhibition), education and healthcare sectors. The IDR status currently grants a five-year tax exemption or 100 percent investment tax allowance of the capital expenditure against 100 percent of statutory income.

Among the upcoming amenities, the first duty-free shopping mall will be ready to welcome shoppers by end-2016 at the Fisherman’s Wharf on Island 1 of Forest City, which will carry a wide range of leading international brands and products. Another attraction will be a five-star boutique hotel.