Samuel Tan said the incentive packages, which are predominantly designed to stimulate family offices and other commercial activities in Forest City, will boost the demand for residential and commercial properties.

“It will become a prototype for a regional family office hub, second only to Singapore and Hong Kong,” Tan, the CEO of Olive Tree Property Consultants, wrote in the latest edition of CME Monthly Espresso, a newsletter by think tank Center for Market Education.

Last month, finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan announced several incentives for the FC-SFZ, including a reduced corporate income tax rate of between 0% and 5% for companies and a 0% tax rate for family wealth officers.

Amir also said the government would impose a special individual income tax rate of 15% for Malaysians as well as knowledge-based workers who work in the SFZ.

Tan said the incentives, which he described as decisive actions by Putrajaya to revive Forest City, had “excited” the real estate market.

He said that before the announcement of the incentive packages, the commercial units within Pulau Satu in Forest City achieved a take-up rate of 80% in under an hour after their launch.

The successful sale of the strata commercial lots is a testament of increased confidence in the real estate market in Forest City, he said.

Tan said areas like Gelang Patah, Pontian, Medini and Iskandar Puteri are also likely to enjoy the spillover effects as there would be increased business opportunities and job creation in retail, healthcare and tourism, among others.

He also said the FC-SFZ will be a game changer which will fuel sustainable economic development, fostering innovation and increased cross-border collaboration in the region.

“With its success, we believe there will be more such SFZs emerging in the region,” he said, adding that the proximity of FC-SFZ to the financial hub in Singapore will make it stand out and be unique.