Mr Walker, whose company is behind developments such as Sydney's King Street Wharf and Main Drive Kew in Melbourne and has $12 billion of property projects in the pipeline, is looking to increase investments in southern Malaysia, where he has already put in about $2 billion into a project in the Johor region. Mr Walker said he is in talks for further investments in the city of Johor Bahru as he bets that demand from neighboring Singapore will increase.

Residents of Singapore, which is southeast Asia's richest city, are increasingly crossing over into Malaysia, as they seek property, labor and amenities, often at half the cost or less. Economic growth and soaring immigration have strained Singapore's resources, making it one of the most expensive places to live in the world.

With cheaper land plentiful in southern Malaysia, money is pouring across the border. Singapore has invested at least 11 billion ringgit ($3.72 billion) in Iskandar Malaysia, a special economic zone in southern Johor established in 2006 that's three times the size of the city.

Turning prawn farms into apartments

Mr Walker is converting land, previously used for prawn-breeding farms, into swanky apartments. His Senibong Cove project is expected to be valued at about $7.5 billion along with an adjoining plot it will develop with a Singaporean company, the property tycoon said.