Malaysia is currently in talks with Berjaya and Genting Group to potentially open a casino in Forest City, in Johor, known as the nation’s ‘ghost city’.
The residential development area was first announced in 2006 as a 20-year project financed by a group of mostly mainland Chinese real estate developers, under the Belt and Road Initiative.
According to Bloomberg, the $100 billion property project also counts the nation’s monarch as one of the shareholders.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is reported to have met with Berjaya Corp’s founder Vincent Tan and Genting Group’s Lim Kok Thay in Malaysia last week to have preliminary talks about the casino project.
However, its uncertain whether any concrete agreements will be reached, given Malaysia’s Muslim majority and aversity to gambling.
According to the publication, the country’s King controls over 20 percent of the joint venture in Forest City, overseen by developer Country Garden.
If cemented, the agreement would be Malaysia’s second-ever casino license.
King Ibrahim himself holds a stake in Berjaya Assets Bhd, while his daughter is the Chair of Berjaya Corp. He himself only ascended to the throne in January.
