More than a decade ago, Chinese real estate giant Country Garden launched an ambitious overseas project in Malaysia - Forest City. Located in the Strait of Johor, this futuristic city, which cost hundreds of billions of dollars, not only covers four artificial islands, but also plans to build a high-end city to attract the middle class in China and even the world. However, today, the city has become a symbol of an empty city. Although Country Garden has promoted Forest City as a "green future city", the actual situation is sad. Many high-rise buildings in the complex are still empty, and there are few pedestrians on the streets. Maintenance personnel have become the main permanent population in the city.

Current situation of Forest City

Today, Forest City is sparsely populated, and most residents are temporary workers and cleaners. Stores are open sporadically, and many shops are closed with wooden boards. Tana Selvi, an employee of KK Supermarket, lamented that "I can see strange faces here every day." She rented a simple apartment in the local area for a monthly rent of only $118. On the streets of Forest City, the lights are sparse, and many apartment buildings are dark, with only a few windows lit with weak lights. The initial prosperous dream failed to come true, and the scene before us makes people feel deeply disappointed.

The gap between the grand blueprint and reality

When Forest City was first conceived, Country Garden planned to develop up to 700,000 apartments and claimed that it would further promote construction based on market demand. However, only one island with 26,000 apartments has been completed. In 2014, when Country Garden announced this grand plan, few people thought that the project would face such a difficult situation. Initially, in order to attract investment, Forest City claimed that it would become a duty-free zone and planned to introduce luxury retail stores and high-end duty-free shops, but most of these commercial spaces have not been occupied so far.

Since Country Garden fell into a debt crisis last year, Forest City has been forced to shelve and has become a microcosm of the decline of the Chinese real estate market. Country Garden's financial difficulties make it difficult for it to fulfill its promises to homebuyers, making the fate of Forest City full of variables. The developer said that despite the current severe situation, it will not give up the grand plan of this "city of the future".

Repeated construction model and setbacks overseas

Country Garden once achieved great success in the Chinese market due to its rapid development model, adopting the strategy of "build it and people will come". However, when this model was replicated in Forest City, the results were not as expected. In 2016, the Singapore government was concerned about the impact of Forest City's construction on the environment, which led to a brief suspension of the project. At the same time, the Chinese government began to restrict residents from purchasing real estate overseas due to concerns about capital outflows, and this policy dealt a heavy blow to Forest City's sales.

In order to attract investors, Malaysia announced that it would set up Forest City as a special financial zone and provide investors with tax incentives. However, these incentives have not yet brought the expected results. Forest City is still in a semi-abandoned state, many office building door locks are rusted, and a few floors are still dark.

Lessons of ignoring demand

Country Garden's planning for Forest City failed to fully consider market demand and actual conditions. In 2014, landscape architect Michael Grove was invited to participate in the development of Forest City. He pointed out: "Country Garden is blindly chasing trends and ignoring the opportunity to create a real, sustainable city." The rapid advancement of the project not only brought environmental problems, but also made Country Garden fail to accurately grasp the needs of buyers.

Enthusiasm and cooling of overseas investors

When Forest City was first launched, Chinese buyers were once enthusiastic, and many people thought it was a rare investment opportunity. However, this craze did not last long. Mu Su (sound), a buyer in Shanghai, bought a property in 2016. He thought the area was pleasant and relatively cheap. However, after moving in, he felt remote and desolate, which was very different from his initial imagination. Despite this, Mu Su decided to stay and hoped to start a new life here.

A few owners in Forest City use the apartments as vacation homes and only come to live for a few days each year. For many investors, these apartments are not long-term residences, but more like a property reserve. However, the current sluggish state of China's real estate market has put Forest City buyers and developers in a dilemma.

Country Garden's future and Forest City's dilemma

Country Garden said that 80% of Forest City's apartments have been sold, with buyers from more than 20 countries around the world. However, Forest City's population density remains low. During a recent visit, many of the empty streets were walked by short-term workers. Cleaners, gardeners, and security guards have become the "permanent population" of Forest City. They maintain the order of this "city of the future" every day, making this empty city still clean and tidy under the scorching sun.

Country Garden once made a strong contribution to the prosperity of China's real estate market, but the failure of Forest City reminds us that in the expansion of overseas markets, grand visions alone are not enough to support a real and feasible project. Whether it is the adaptability of the development model or the control of market demand, the lessons of Forest City are an important reflection for Country Garden and even other Chinese developers.