Chua Ma Yu’s family office among first to tap Forest City’s zero-tax incentives

• Formerly known as Waterfront Capital, CMY Capital is known for co-owning The St Regis Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (KL:MRCB). MRCB sold its 13 units of The Residences at the hotel to Selangor State Development Corp (PKNS) for RM79.92 million last year.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): Billionaire investor Tan Sri Chua Ma Yu’s family office is one of the first to benefit from Malaysia’s new 0% tax incentive for single-family offices (SFOs) set up in Forest City, part of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Formerly known as Waterfront Capital, CMY Capital is known for co-owning The St Regis Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (KL:MRCB). MRCB sold its 13 units of The Residences at the hotel to Selangor State Development Corp (PKNS) for RM79.92 million last year.

Ma Yu owns a direct 10%, while his sons, Datuk Chua Sai Men and Chua Ray-Men, hold 4.88% each. CMY Family Office Sdn Bhd and CMY Nominees Sdn Bhd own the remaining shares.

CMY Capital has stakes in several companies, including 2.23% in ITMAX System Bhd (KL:ITMAX) and 28.85% in Selangor Shipyard Sdn Bhd.

For financial year 2024, CMY Capital recorded a loss of RM2.28 million on RM112.62 million revenue, down from a RM4.5 million profit on RM190 million revenue in FY2020. It has a paid-up capital of RM153.75 million.

According to the Securities Commission’s (SC) spokesperson, CMY Capital is the parent company of a newly formed SFO that meets the requirement of being incorporated in Pulau 1, Forest City, to qualify for the 10-year tax exemption. CMY Capital itself, incorporated in 1992 and based in Kuala Lumpur, does not directly qualify.

Another early mover is Yow Kee Family Office Sdn Bhd, owned by David Chong Kok Kong, founder of Portcullis, a regional trust and family office service provider. Yow Kee was incorporated in December 2024 and is located in Menara Delima Satu, Forest City, meeting the SC’s criteria. Chong owns 100% of the company.

Portcullis, founded in 1984 in Singapore, has offices in Singapore and Hong Kong, with licences in the Cayman Islands and Seychelles.

Both firms have received conditional approval from the SC, a key step to access the tax break. Seventeen other companies are also exploring SFO setups in Johor.

To qualify for the 0% tax incentive, an SFO must have at least RM30 million in assets and invest at least 10% of its assets or RM10 million, whichever is lower, in approved local investments.

The SFO must be a newly incorporated investment holding company in Malaysia with a registered office in Pulau 1, Forest City, Johor. It must also pre-register with the SC. The incentive lasts for 10 years, with a possible 10-year extension if additional conditions are met.

Johor exco member Lee Ting Han, in a press release announcing the two SFO’s approval by SC, said the Ministry of Finance is finalising legal documents for the incentive scheme, which is expected to be launched soon.

The tax break is part of efforts to revive Forest City, originally launched in 2014 by Country Garden Holdings. The project aimed to reclaim four islands with a total investment of US$100 billion (RM431.5 billion), but only one island has been reclaimed so far, with RM20 billion spent to build 28,000 housing units.

Forest City is run by Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between Country Garden Group and Esplanade Danga 88 Sdn Bhd.

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