Article content

FOREST CITY, Malaysia — On a recent morning, cleaners rushed to sweep around the models showing the future dreams of Forest City developers: residential skyscrapers, malls, parks, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or A would-be $100 billion city in the Malaysian jungle is in jeopardy over a growing rift with China Back to video

The hopeful buyers, busloads of Chinese for a Chinese-built project, were guided around the showroom. They all got the pitch about how a new city of 700,000 people — “jade carved out of the ocean” — would rise out of coastal palm plantations and reclaimed land just north of Singapore.

But there was one important element left out of the glowing promises for Forest City.

Malaysia’s new government, led by senior statesman Mahathir Mohamad, has swiftly moved to block or amend the rules for major Chinese-led works in the country, cancelling a slew of projects including a $20 billion railway and two gas pipelines totalling $2.3 billion.

For the $100 billion Forest City project, it could mean no sales for foreigners, effectively killing the target Chinese market for the planned development.