These Singapore firms are scrambling to ride on the Iskandar property craze

A US$2.6b project is already underway.

According to CIMB, there has been a rapid pickup in investment interests from Singapore property companies in Iskandar. Ascendas REIT's (AREIT) parent,  Ascendas Land, has recently set up a 60:40 S$1.5bn joint venture with Malaysia’s UEM Land to develop an integrated eco-friendly tech park in Nusajaya.

Prompted by a dearth of attractive acquisition targets and its dominant SME exposure, Mapletree Industrial Trust has also indicated the possibility of following its tenants’ foot-steps to Iskandar when its pure-local mandate expires in Oct 2013.

Here's more from CIMB:

Cache and Cambridge have sounded a similar note, indicating the possibility of emulating the action of certain tenants by expanding into Iskandar.

CapitaLand's move to acquire a plot of land in Danga Bay is perhaps the most significant recognition of Iskandar’s potential by a Singapore-based player.

The largest developer in South East Asia by market capitalisation acquired the piece of land with 11m sq ft of GFA for US$259m, through a 51:40:9 JV with Iskandar
Waterfront Sdn Bhd (IWSB) and Temasek Holdings, as announced by CapitaLand on Feb 19.

The site is located 30 minutes away from the Tuas Second Link by car. CapitaLand will be the master planner for the mixed development, which is expected to be completed in 10-15 years' time and has an estimated GDV of RM8.1bn (US$2.6bn).

Lim Ming Yan, CapitaLand’s new CEO, said that Malaysia and Singapore's economies complement each other and believes that it is only natural for more Singapore-based developers (such as CapitaLand) to increase its investment exposure at Iskandar.

He is positive on the its long-term prospects and sees demand coming from Johor, other parts of Malaysia, Malaysians working in Singapore and Singaporeans.

We understand that there has been an immediate uptick in the asking prices for condominiums in Iskandar after CapitaLand announced its Danga Bay foray.