Country Garden foreign sale ban yet to be decided: media report

The Malaysian government said in a statement on Tuesday that it did not put any restrictions on any foreign tourists, including Chinese, entering the country, provided that these tourists meet relevant requirements.

It also pointed out that there are certain restrictions in the purchase of homes by foreign citizens in Malaysia and home ownership does not guarantee permanent residence in the country.

The response came after a Reuters report saying that Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he wanted to prevent foreigners from buying residential units in the $100 billion Forest City project, a setback for the Chinese developer as it tries to revive faltering demand for the site.

It also comes amid a Malaysian official said that a foreign sales ban involving a project of Chinese property developer Country Garden, as mentioned by Mahathir, has not yet been decided, according to a report from malaymail.com.

“For the time being, it is still undecided if they can sell property to foreigners. We must assess [the situation] and then provide the prime minister with a report,” said Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, the site reported.

Mahathir said that “One thing is certain, that city that is going to be built cannot be sold to foreigners.”

Country Garden denied the reports late on Monday, claiming that the Malaysian government had never made the comment.

Chinese buyers account for about two-thirds of the owners of Forest City units sold so far, with 20 percent from Malaysia and the rest from 22 other markets, including Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea.