Photo/VCG

Aug. 28 (NBD) -- Country Garden (02007.HK), China's largest property developer by sales, has confirmed with the Malaysian government that the government has never banned foreigners from buying Forest City residential units, refuting what Reuters reported earlier, the company told NBD.

Forest City is a 100-billion-U.S. dollar project of Country Garden in Malaysia's Johor state, which is only two kilometers (linear distance) away from Singapore. The project occupies an area of 20 square kilometers and is designed to house 700,000 people.

Chinese buyers now make up about two-thirds of the owners of the Forest City apartments that have been sold so far, with 20 percent from Malaysia and the rest from 22 other countries including Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea.

Reuters also reported that Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday declared that foreigners will not be granted visas to live in the giant Forest City real estate project.

In response, a person-in-charge at Country Garden noted the project never promises buyers a permanent residency in Malaysia, but a ten-year Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) visa instead, reported financial news portal Yicai.com.

On August 16, Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamad met with Country Garden's founding Chairman Yeung Kwok Keung. During the 40-minute meeting, Mahathir said he welcomes foreign investments that can benefit Malaysia. Yeung said his company will not exit Malaysia but will increase investment there.

Email: tanyuhan@nbd.com.cn