Property Developer Shares 'Burn' Today After Forest City Announced Special Financial Zone

<p>&nbsp;Lately, the focus of Malaysian market players has been directed towards Forest City, where recently the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced Forest City, Johor as a Special Financial Zone in his speech at the Johor State 2024 Budget Tour dialogue ceremony, last Friday.</p><p><br /></p><p>Analysts argue that the purpose of the development is to attract corporate companies to invest in the country and attract individuals to live there.</p><p><br /></p><p>So it is not surprising that stock investors also pay attention to matters related to this project, including some real estate developer stocks. Ekovest Bhd was the most actively traded stock on Monday with 119.88 million shares traded. Ekovest Bhd shares have increased by 6 sen or 13% to a trading level of 51.5 sen per share unit. This makes the stock market capital of RM1.39 billion.</p><p><br /></p><p>On the other hand, Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd (IWCity) recorded an increase of 8 sen or 13.4% to 67.5 sen, with 90.47 million shares traded. This makes it the second most actively traded stock on Bursa Securities. Meanwhile, UEM Sunrise Bhd, the main developer of Iskandar Puteri in Johor, rose 4.5 sen or 6.7% to 71.5 sen, making it a market capitalization of RM3.62 billion. P Setia Bhd also got an additional 8 or 9.6% to 91 sen.</p><p><br /></p><p>As reported by intraday.my, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stated that it is one of the government's efforts to boost the economic development of the area involved by making it a Special Financial Zone.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>In a note to investors on Monday, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB) stated that Forest City as a special financial area has increased the development potential in the south-west of Johor.</p><p><br /></p><p>"This strategic move not only promotes economic diversification and growth balance in different areas of Iskandar Malaysia, it also offers great job creation potential and increases Iskandar Malaysia's investment attractiveness," he said.</p><p><br /></p><p>RHB Research, meanwhile, expects that more development will shift to the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link area due to its vast land resources and well-developed infrastructure, and Forest City located adjacent to it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Other incentives announced by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim include entry visas, fast track for those working in Singapore, and a fixed income tax rate of 15% for knowledge workers.</p><p><br /></p><p>While this special financial zone initiative offers great potential, Maybank said the efficient transport links and infrastructure offered by Forest City are important to attract investors. Real estate developers Perti Eco World Development Bhd, S P Setia, UEM Sunrise and KSL Holdings Bhd, which focus more on affordable land properties priced at RM1 million per unit and industrial parks, are expected to benefit from the impact of rising investment and job opportunities in the long term. long.</p>