Report: Fake islands, like Malaysia's Forest City, could spell economic trouble

Work in progress: Residential buildings under construction at Forest City in Johor. There seems to be something of a correlation between the construction of artificial islands bejewelled with fancy real estate and an economy that’s about to go off the rails. — Reuters

WHERE is it that we’ve seen glittering archipelagos like Malaysia’s Forest City and Melaka Gateway developments before? Those stretches of newly packed white sand, dotted with palm trees, villas, marinas, high-end retail malls and office towers?

Is it Dubai’s World and Palm Jebel Ali developments? Both sit all but deserted a decade after the 2008 financial crisis crashed their dreams of creating exclusive, private-island enclaves for the likes of Michael Schumacher and David and Victoria Beckham.