Johor Forest Citys plans for family offices gaining pace: Minister

Forest City's plans to become a family office hub are gaining pace gradually, with details such as incentives and criteria to be officially announced in the first quarter of 2025, said Malaysian Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan.

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The Forest City special financial zone (SFZ) in Iohor will not be competing directly with Singapore. Instead, it aims to attract a different market segment by offering lower threshold requirements for family offices, said Datuk Seri Amir in an interview with The Straits Times on Nov 19.

"We want to welcome family offices but we are not competing directly with Singapore, as there are some groups that are not serviced by Singapore, so we (will) set clear criteria to attract those groups to set up within Malaysia," he said.

Family offices, entities that manage the wealth of the super rich, can be set up in Malaysia with a minimum of RM30 million (S$9 million) in assets under management, compared with $20 million in Singapore.

In September, Malaysia announced a zero per cent tax rate for family offices located in Forest City's SFZ, as part of incentives to attract foreign capital.

The move is aimed at reviving Forest City, a beleaguered US$100 billion (S$134 billion) development project located a stone's throw from Singapore.