Why CapitaLand is so bent to get its hands on Iskandar

Strong housing demand from 3 sources.

According to CIMB, management sees strong potential in Iskandar and believes the company has the relevant expertise to operate in Malaysia given its Singaporean roots. 

CapLand expects housing demand in Iskandar to progressively come from 1) Singaporeans with businesses in Johor, 2) Malaysians residing in Singapore, and 3) locals in the broader state of Johor.

Here's more from CIMB:

We see this latest venture at Danga Bay as a first step to gaining a larger exposure in Iskandar. For now, management believes that it is still too early to give an indication of how much capital it will be deploying.

The project accounts for only 1% of its RNAV at the moment, a level we believe is scalable given its large regional focus.

In the near term, China will remain its largest offshore market, accounting for over 50% of its GAV.