OSAKA -- Japanese homebuilder Daiwa House Industry will develop a multitenant distribution center in Malaysia, extending its booming logistics business to a fourth Southeast Asian country after Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The roughly 2 billion yen ($18 million) Malaysian facility will be built about 30 km outside central Kuala Lumpur in the state of Selangor, which surrounds the national capital.

About half of the 16,500 sq. meters it will offer for rent will feature refrigeration or freezing equipment, enabling it to serve wholesalers of Japanese food products. Completion is scheduled for late 2019.

Daiwa House will also build on its existing Vietnamese presence with a similar facility, located about a 40-minute drive from downtown Ho Chi Minh City and close to a new international airport slated for completion in 2025. The 4 billion yen complex will offer two warehouses and be built in stages.

Operations will begin in earnest in the spring of 2020. The facility will handle mainly construction materials and pharmaceutical products for Japanese businesses, with some climate-controlled space for food and drink products.

Daiwa House's broad international portfolio includes housing developments in the U.S. and Australia. It now seeks to build on its success in the logistics facilities business at home by expanding its footprint in Southeast Asia.