Is Malaysia's Iskandar losing its shine?

RED speckles of danger have surfaced in Malaysia's hot zone Iskandar on the back of frenzied building by gungho developers from China, stirring some agitation over the sustainability of what was once a buoyant property scene in Malaysia's southern growth corridor. Amid a housing slump back at home, China's real estate giants with great financial muscle and aptitude to finish projects in record time, are set to flood the Iskandar area with huge supply of homes.

If anything, the plans are lofty; from a sweeping media blitz in Malaysia and Singapore to trumpet their project launches, to reclaiming large swathes of land to raise a man-made island on the Johor strait, and building a gobsmacking 15 towers of 35-storey apartments under a single project.

But the timing is starkly inopportune as Iskandar's property sector is in consolidation mode after ripping through record transaction volumes last year of RM30 billion (S$11.6 billion), up by a stomping 80 per cent from a year earlier.