From MarketPlace, December 14:
This story was produced by our colleagues at the BBC.
China’s real estate sector has had a tumultuous few years. While the woes of property giant Evergrande have often stolen headlines, Country Garden is another that has been wrapped up in the unfolding real estate crisis.
This week, the Chinese property developer announced that top executives there are having their salaries slashed as the company continues to struggle with colossal debts. And the crisis in the property sector in China is being felt beyond the country’s borders.
In 2016, Country Garden unveiled a $100 billion project in Malaysia called Forest City. It was supposed to accommodate nearly 1 million people. Eight years on, the complex is virtually empty. Below, a dispatch from inside Forest City:
***VIDEO***
At the tip of Malaysia, driving south towards the coast, there’s a strange sight in the distance: a dozen tower blocks on the horizon, which locals call “ghost city.”
In reality, it’s a Chinese-built mega-housing development. And on first impressions, it’s hard to believe that anyone actually lives here.
Even in midafternoon, the long corridors in the towers are pitch dark. It feels more like a haunted house than a happy home....
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