Vanke to buy plot in Malaysia for $1b

China's second-largest developer China Vanke Co. Ltd will spend 4 billion ringgit ($1.12 billion) in Malaysia to purchase a plot of land for development, according to NetEase, a news portal.

China Vanke plans to buy 60 hectares of seafront land in Johor Bahru, capital city of Malaysia's southern Johor state. Top executives have visited Johor Bahru several times and the company would unveil its plan soon, NetEase reported on Tuesday.

China Vanke's move comes after Greenland Holding Group, the largest developer in China, invested $3.3 billion in Johor Bahru in February to develop residential and hotel projects.

Johor Bahru became a hot spot after the Malaysian government announced an ambitious plan to integrate the city with Singapore. The city overlooks Singapore to the south across the Strait of Johor.

Country Garden (Holding) Limited was the first Chinese developer to tap Malaysia in early 2012. Now there are at least seven Chinese developers with projects in the country.