CNA938 Rewind - A ghost town – What will it take to revive Forest City?
Forest City – once billed as a living paradise – now holds the reputation as Malaysia's ghost town. Plans are underway to transform the project in Johor, and current developments could work in its favour. Will they be enough? Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman speaks with Samuel Tan, CEO, Olive Tree Property Consultants, to find out more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
37 minutes ago
- CNA
CCIC Singapore says it laid off staff as US sanctions over Iran oil shipments hit harder than expected
SINGAPORE: Cargo inspection company CCIC Singapore, which recently laid off hundreds of workers, said on Monday (Jun 9) that it had to do so as the impact of sanctions from the United States turned out to be far greater than expected, and that it has ceased operations in Singapore. The China-linked, Singapore-based firm was among 15 companies blacklisted by the US on May 13 for helping to conceal the origins of Iranian oil being shipped to China. "Due to the direct impact of US sanctions, the company's bank accounts have been frozen, resulting in an inability to repatriate revenue or cover expenses. This has led to a breakdown in cash flow, loss of clients and severe disruption to overall operations," the company told CNA in a statement in Chinese. "Against this backdrop, the company has been forced to initiate business liquidation and staff reductions. The primary reason is that the impact of the sanctions has far exceeded expectations - banks have ceased providing services, and salaries and operational costs can no longer be paid." CCIC Singapore said that it will disburse salaries for the month of May and part of the severance payments to each affected employee within three days. Retrenchment notices sent to employees had said that retrenchment benefits would only be fully paid after the liquidation process was complete, with an estimated date of Jun 30, 2026. Two employees earlier told CNA that CCIC Singapore has over 400 workers in Singapore and Malaysia, with the majority based in Singapore. Another employee said the firm has more than 300 workers in Singapore alone. The company added on Monday that it has made the "difficult" decision to terminate its Singapore operations after "thorough deliberation". "This decision was extremely challenging for the management team, but it is a rational choice that had to be made under the current circumstances," it said. CCIC Singapore is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Certification & Inspection Group (CCIC), a Chinese state-owned enterprise headquartered in Beijing. Asked for its comments on the US accusations and whether it intends to appeal, the company said it has "consistently required its subsidiaries to comply with the applicable laws and regulations of their host countries and other relevant jurisdictions". It added that it will continue to "manage all related matters in accordance with the law and maintain ongoing communication with all relevant parties". LAYOFFS AFTER US SANCTIONS Three affected employees had told CNA last Friday that staff across all departments of CCIC Singapore were notified of their retrenchments on May 30, with the terminations effective from the next day. The employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the company had delayed the payment of salaries owed for May, with retrenchment notices attributing this to the firm's "pending liquidation". CCIC Singapore was set up in 1989 and has its registered address at Singapore Science Park. Its customers include Shell, BP, Total, Exxon Mobil and major Chinese petrochemical corporations, according to CCIC's website. Parent company CCIC was established in 1980 and is part of China's State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. The US has blacklisted CCIC Singapore for helping to obscure the origins of Iranian oil, which is typically done through numerous ship-to-ship transfers, oil blending and false documentation. Sepehr Energy, which is a front company of the Iranian military, "consistently relied" on CCIC Singapore for cargo inspections of oil being delivered to China, according to the US Treasury Department. In 2024, CCIC Singapore provided inspection services during a ship-to-ship transfer of about 2 million barrels of Iranian oil from a sanctioned vessel. That same year, the firm also "likely provided" falsified documents to conceal the identity of another sanctioned vessel and certify its cargo of Iranian oil as Malaysian crude. According to the US Treasury Department, Iran's illicit oil trade funds the development of ballistic missiles and drones as well as regional terrorist groups. The sanctions freeze all US-linked assets of the blacklisted companies and individuals. In addition, any company that is at least half-owned by those sanctioned is also blocked from transactions engaging US businesses or the US financial system.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
China exports slow as trade war takes toll
BEIJING: Chinese exports grew slower than expected in May, according to official data on Monday (Jun 9), as shipments to the United States tumbled amid global trade turmoil triggered by Donald Trump's tariff blitz. The figures also showed imports suffered a forecast-beating drop, with weak domestic consumption in the world's number two economy highlighted by data earlier in the day revealing another month of falling prices. The 4.8 per cent year-on-year drop in overseas shipments last month was an improvement on April but bigger than the 6.0 per cent forecast in a survey of economists by Bloomberg. The reading included a 12.7 per cent plunge in exports to the US compared with April, when Trump unveiled his eye-watering tariffs on China. Imports from the US tanked 17.9 per cent after Beijing imposed tit-for-tat measures. Exports tumbled by a third year-on-year in May. In contrast, the data showed shipments to Vietnam increased from the previous month. Those to other Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, all declined slightly after soaring in April, the figures indicated. "The trade war between China and the US led to sharply lower exports to the US, but the damage was offset by stronger exports to other countries," Zhiwei Zhang, resident and Chief Economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said in a note. "The trade outlook remains highly uncertain at this stage," he added, pointing to the impact of "frontloading", when overseas buyers increase shipments ahead of potentially higher tariffs. CONSUMER PRICES Monday's readings added to concerns about the Chinese economy, with a report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing the consumer price index - a key measure of inflation - dropped 0.1 per cent year on year in May. The reading, which was slightly better than expected but marks the fourth straight month of falling prices, comes as Beijing struggles to boost the sluggish domestic consumption seen since the end of the pandemic. Leaders' failure to kickstart demand threatens their official growth targets and complicates their ability to shield their economy from Trump's tariff blitz. While deflation suggests the cost of goods is falling, it poses a threat to the broader economy as consumers tend to postpone purchases under such conditions, hoping for further reductions. A lack of demand can then force companies to cut production, freeze hiring or lay off workers, while potentially also having to discount existing stocks - dampening profitability even as costs remain the same. Deepening a slump that has now lasted more than two years, factory gate prices also dropped in May, the NBS said on Monday. The producer price index decline of 3.3 per cent - accelerating from a 2.7 per cent drop in April - was faster than the 3.2 per cent estimated in the Bloomberg survey. Representatives from China and the US are expected to meet on Monday in London for another round of high-stakes trade talks, markets hope will ease tensions between the economic superpowers. A key issue in the negotiations will be Beijing's shipments of rare earths, crucial to a range of goods including electric vehicle batteries and which have been a bone of contention between the two for some time. Figures Monday showed Chinese exports of 17 minerals rose last month to 5,865 from 4,785 tons in April. The London talks will be the second set of formal negotiations between the two since Trump launched his global trade blitz on Apr 2. They were announced after a phone call last week between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which the US president described as "very good".
CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - A ghost town – What will it take to revive Forest City?
Forest City – once billed as a living paradise – now holds the reputation as Malaysia's ghost town. Plans are underway to transform the project in Johor, and current developments could work in its favour. Will they be enough? Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman speaks with Samuel Tan, CEO, Olive Tree Property Consultants, to find out more.
