Chinese Property Developer Venture into Iskandar Malaysia

Dec 3 (Reuters) – Chinese property developer Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd(碧桂园) said it is buying 11 hectares of prime waterfront land in a big industrial zone in southern Malaysia for almost 1 billion ringgit ($328.97 million).

The deal would mark the biggest investment to date from mainland China in Iskandar, Country Garden said in a statement. Iskandar is in the southern Malaysian state of Johor near Singapore.

“We are very confident and upbeat about the business outlook in Iskandar Malaysia,” Mo Bin, Country Garden’s president and executive director, said in the statement.

The Chinese company is expected to formalise the land purchase agreement on Tuesday with Malaysian government-linked firm Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd, which is the master developer of the 1,620 ha prime waterfront land.

Country Garden plans to developed the 11-hectares site into an integrated property project with a gross development value of 18 billion ringgit ($5.92 billion). The project will include the construction of a luxury clubhouse, commercial tower, shopping mall, high-end condominium and service apartment, it said. ($1 = 3.0397 Malaysian ringgit)

Source: Reporting By Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, REUTERS.