KUALA LUMPUR: THE highly-competitive local property market has pushed small and midsized companies to look to China for capital support.
Chinese companies, on the flip side, are taking advantage of this to expand abroad, especially in Malaysia and Singapore.
Yesterday, Fujian Hexinyuantong Investment Co Ltd said it would invest up to RM650 million in a residential project in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, in collaboration with Paramount Blossom Sdn Bhd.
The Chinese company is looking for more opportunities to invest and build projects in Malaysia.
A property expert said the market had been dominated by local property giants, which made it difficultfor smaller companies to compete.
“With the sluggishness of our property market, there is fear that small and mid-sized companies will lose out in the battle for market share. The big boys have the resources to build projects that meet market demands and they are able to bite the bullet during difficult times.
“The involvement of Chinese companies is not just good for the smaller companies but also for the market as it would boost the confidence of buyers and investors,” he said.
Hartanahguru.com founder Abdul Aziz Ahmad said Chinese property players were looking to Malaysia and Singapore because of the slowdown in China.
“Now, these developers are shifting their attention to emerging markets.
Malaysia and Singapore are among the top 10 countries that property giants in China are king to invest in.
Malaysia, especially, is emerging with huge infrastructure projects in the pipeline.
“Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, is appealing as it resembles Shenzen, which is a neighbour of Hong Kong.
“They are now looking at Greater Kuala Lumpur after the government confirmed the implementation of the high-speed rail project and Bandar Malaysia,” he said yesterday.
Aziz expects more such collaborations in the near future.
Chinese developer Country Garden is investing billions of ringgit to build Forest City, its largest real-estate project outside China.
The award-winning developer is also building another project with a gross development value (GDV) of RM10 billion in Danga Bay, Johor.
Chinese construction company China Railway Group Ltd will spend US$2 billion (RM8.14 billion) to set up its regional centre in Bandar Malaysia, here. It has partnered Titijaya Land Bhd to build a mixed-development project with an expected GDV of RM2.1 billion in Jalan Ampang, here.