Malaysia set to launch Forest City Financial Zone, but will it lure businesses?

The government will announce incentives and packages at the launch to stimulate interest among insurance and finance firms to set up shop in the SFZ, Johor state executive councillor Lee Ting Han said on Monday.

However, a lack of official details so far has done little to spur enthusiasm among companies exhausted by Forest City’s repeated setbacks, despite their interest in finding more affordable alternatives to Singapore to expand their operations, according to one Malaysian insurance industry veteran.

“Earlier statements [by the government] mentioned some kind of low taxation regime for workers and companies that set up their headquarters there,” the industry source told This Week in Asia, requesting not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.