Posted on 09/03/2023 4:21:28 AM PDT by FarCenter
Forest City (Malaysia) (AFP) – On the approach to Malaysia's $100-billion island megaproject backed by Chinese investment, a collapsed bridge forces drivers to detour before they reach an artificial city emerging from palm oil trees where condos, roads and shops lay empty.
Aimed at middle-class Chinese buyers, Forest City has weathered scant sales, Chinese currency controls, a pandemic shutdown and public anger at China's growing influence in Malaysia.
But its future is in doubt again because of the financial woes of Chinese property giant Country Garden. The project developer rose from a farmer's idea to Beijing's largest private real estate firm, but is now saddled with $196 billion of debt.
It posted a record loss for the first half of 2023 this week but won creditor approval to extend a key bond repayment deadline, narrowly avoiding a potential default that imperilled thousands of developments in and outside the world's second-largest economy.
Another deadline looms next week over an unpaid multi-million dollar interest payment that again leaves it at risk of default.
"I hope Country Garden can overcome their financial difficulties," said 29-year-old Zhao Bojian from Chinese province Henan, who bought one of 26,000 Forest City apartments for around $430,000 five years ago.
"If nobody comes to Forest City, we cannot do business here."
Sitting across from gleaming city-state Singapore, the sprawling private town in Johor state was one Country Garden's many ambitious gambles that took the company to great heights but now risk crashing it back down to reality.
Launched under China's Belt and Road Initiative with a company partly owned by a powerful Malaysian sultan, Forest City houses around 9,000 people, way below its 700,000 target.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
A 15 second city it seems.
She said the average house price was $1,000,000.
Forest City is essentially a high-end refugee camp for wealthy Chinese trying to escape Xi's government with their assets intact - but recent Chinese crackdowns have completely destroyed their target market. The Malaysian government doesn't want any more Chinese investors coming in but investors from other countries aren't interested in these Chinese-built towers - proximity to Singapore notwithstanding.
It's faster to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore than to cross the bridge from Johor Bahru, anyway.
$196 BILLION IN DEBT
ABSORB THAT IN YOUR MIND
Been over that bridge, and you are correct on all fronts.
Are they better off dealing with us? Capitalism can correct it’s mistakes whether it be slavery or cultural imperialism. Look at what the Vietnamese did to the the ethnic Chinese after the country fell. Of course China is capitalist just not free. Algeria had to fight for it’s freedom. Bangladesh. The Us. Where do we find other places that are ripe for coming of age? It’s complicated.
Even Ho Chi Minh said that he’d rather smell French s___ for five years, than Chinese s___ for a thousand years.
That seems to be an old photo. Google Earth shows it to be almost complete, and looking nice.
Very good. We can go a step further and be an advocate for self determination. Do it before the embers start a fire.
A separate Quebec.
Puerto Rican/Hawaiian independence.
Greater Idaho
Texas secession.
A serious but soft realignment will plant the seed for more violent but necessary changes where they’re needed. Think Tibet, Kurdistan, Polynesia, Northern Ireland. Evacuate South Africa, Polynesia(except Tahiti), the Falklands, Taiwan.
I’ve written these ideas before. Prime the pump. It would be awesome.
The Companies with the Most Debt in America
https://wolfstreet.com/2019/07/26/the-most-indebted-companies-in-america/
AT&T has $191 billion of debt.
Real estate developers and owners aren’t on the list. However, in the US, that industry is a lot less concentrated, so debt is spread out over many more players.
>>Capitalism can correct it’s mistakes whether it be slavery or cultural imperialism.
Starting with about 1990, China has been through the equivalent of the US’ “robber baron” period in the late 1800s. It’s now going through a period like that of our trust busting period that followed. China will subject their robber barons to the discipline of new laws and regulations to remove the worst excesses.
It posted a record loss for the first half of 2023 this week but won creditor approval to extend a key bond repayment deadline, narrowly avoiding a potential default that imperilled thousands of developments in and outside the world’s second-largest economy.
I owe you $192 Billion, don’t have the money, YOU don’t sleep at night.......................
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