Chinese Developer Buys Land in Malaysia

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Chinese developer Guangzhou R&F Properties plans to purchase six land sites in Malaysia for 4.5 billion ringgit ($1.4 billion), its first foreign purchase.

Development plans for the 116 acres include commercial and residential properties in the southern Malaysian state of Johor Bahru, according to Bloomberg.

Chinese developers have increased their foreign investments as concerns rise of an overheating Chinese property market. Foreign investments by Chinese developers include an apartment project in New York City and a hotel and residential tower project in London.

 "Like other developers, R&F made the move to diversify its investment portfolio outside China as domestic property curbs don't seem to end soon," Alan Jin, a Hong Kong-based property analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd., told Bloomberg "It remains uncertain how much demand is out there."

R&F will buy the land from the Sultan of Johor for the development. It has a possible 3.5 million square meters (37.7 million square feet) of floor area including homes, offices and a hotel, according to Bloomberg.