Malaysia's biggest developer, UEM, taps buyers in land-starved Singapore
UEM looks to land-starved Singapore for buyers as it markets HK$10b in housing and commercial projects in Iskandar economic zone
UEM Land Holdings, Malaysia's biggest developer by market value, will start selling 4 billion ringgit (HK$10 billion) of new residential and commercial projects this year, targeting Singaporean buyers.
That is within the 550,000-acre Iskandar Malaysia economic zone, promoted by the government to tap demand from neighbouring Singapore for everything from seafront homes to oil storage.
"Land value in Nusajaya is gaining momentum," Wan Abdullah said. "Investors are seeing a trend that they like very much."
UEM Land is exploiting the closer ties being fostered by the two Southeast Asian nations after decades of arguments over issues including land ownership have been resolved. UEM Land announced 4 billion ringgit worth of projects in Iskandar in December, including an F1 racing test track and an exhibition mall.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, have announced plans for a high-speed rail link by 2020 that would cut the 300-kilometre journey time from the island city to Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes, with Lee saying the two capitals could be seen as twin cities like London and Paris.