Forest City Special Financial Zone Welcomes First Family Offices, Attracts Broad Investor Interest
On April 23rd 2025, Johor’s chairman of Investment, Trade, Consumer Affairs, and Human Resources, Lee Ting Han, announced that Forest City’s Special Financial Zone (SFZ) has officially welcomed its first two family offices—CMY Capital and Yow Kee Family Office. Additionally, 30 other companies have expressed interest in establishing operations in Johor Bahru.
According to Lee, both family offices have received approval from the Securities Commission (SC). To qualify for the SFZ’s 0% tax incentive, family offices must be approved by the SC and manage assets worth at least RM30 million.
In a statement from Forest City’s developer, Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd, Lee also noted that 17 other companies from Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand are exploring plans to set up family offices in the SFZ.
Country Garden Pacificview is a joint venture between China’s Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd and Esplanade Danga 88 Sdn Bhd.
Forest City’s designation as a Special Financial Zone is part of the larger Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), aimed at drawing foreign investment. Incentives include a corporate tax rate of 0% to 5% for qualifying companies, and a flat 15% income tax rate for knowledge workers.
Lee mentioned that the Ministry of Finance is in the process of formalizing these incentives, but until then, applications are being reviewed individually to accelerate approvals. Special incentive packages are also being tailored for large-scale investors.
To further support investment activity, the Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre Johor (IMFCJ) was established as a centralized support hub. The center assigns dedicated account managers to help investors coordinate with relevant authorities and service providers. Since January 2025, it has processed over 250 inquiries.
Image Credit: forestcitysfz.com
