Malaysia Considers Casino Venture in ‘Ghost City’ Forest City

The ‘ghost city’ of Johor, Forest City, is a development that Malaysia is in talks to establish a casino there with Berjaya and Genting Group.

The nation’s monarch is a major participant in the $100 billion real estate project, which was first unveiled in 2006 as a 20-year project supported by a group of mostly mainland Chinese real estate developers as part of the Belt and Road initiative, according to Bloomberg.

Regarding the casino proposal, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is rumored to have had initial discussions with Lim Kok Thay of Genting Group and Vincent Tan, the founder of Berjaya Corp.

The likelihood of concrete agreements, however, is still uncertain given Malaysia’s predominantly Muslim populace and traditional antipathy to gambling.

Notably, developer Country Garden owns more than 20% of the joint venture Forest City, which is controlled by the King of the country.

Malaysia would get its second casino license if the talks are successful, and King Ibrahim will own a portion in Berjaya Assets Bhd and his daughter will hold the position of Chair of Berjaya Corp. This January, King Ibrahim ascended to the throne.

Original Story by: Asian Gaming Brief