Beneath the Veneer

The ‘bamboo network’ is used to conceptualise the investment flow into China from the Chinese diaspora, particularly those who resided in South-east Asia. However, global economic events have decimated the wealth of overseas Chinese whilst mainland Chinese businesses prospered, resulting in what is now reimagined as the ‘reverse bamboo network’. In Iskandar Malaysia (IM), which is a transnational economic region bordering Singapore, the foreign direct investment in housing (FDIH) from China has surpassed that of IM’s more prosperous neighbour Singapore, yet the interscalar interactions between market and actors in FDIH have yet to be unpacked. The aim of this paper is to examine how mainland Chinese developers operate within a bamboo network country by arguing that the similar socioculture helps in moderating institutionalised barriers, such as the unfamiliar legal framework and local personnel management. Framed by the ‘reverse bamboo network’ argument and underpinned by the sociocultural explanation, this paper explains the spatial and business transformations caused by FDIH from China. Data and information from desk research and fieldwork are used to construct macro-, meso- and micro-level dialectics in the paper. Ultimately, this paper argues that the sociocultural dialectic provides a complementary explanation of transnational shapers of the urban space in IM, and having political and cultural allies in the host country could tremendously improve business operations of international developers.

show abstract

The interurban migration industry: ‘Migration products’ and the materialisation of urban speculation at Iskandar Malaysia

Koh

2021

Urban Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Iskandar Malaysia (IM) is a 4749 km2 urban conurbation and development region located at the Malaysia–Singapore border. State-led development of this regional economic corridor has attracted inflows of foreign investments and spurred the rise of mid- to high-end urban developments by foreign developers. This has resulted in the emergence of an interurban migration industry consisting of intermediary entities that are co-developing and co-marketing ‘migration products’ (real estate, education and lifestyle migration) as an integrated package to middle-class, aspiring transnational investor/lifestyle migrants from the region. This article argues that this middlemen industry is crucial to the materialisation of urban speculation, for state actors and investor/lifestyle migrants alike. Through interurban alliances that capitalise on the broader state-led speculative urbanism landscape, the industry co-creates an imagined urban future that is grounded in transnational lifestyle mobilities. This article highlights the need to analyse speculative urbanism and transnational investment/lifestyle migration as intertwined processes.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

customersupport@researchsolutions.com

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Beneath the Veneer

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

Capital mobility and centre–state relations: unpacking the spatial configuration of real estate investment in Iskandar Malaysia

Capital mobility and centre–state relations: unpacking the spatial configuration of real estate investment in Iskandar Malaysia

The ‘reverse bamboo network’: Sociocultural dialectics of China’s FDI in housing (FDIH) in Iskandar Malaysia

The interurban migration industry: ‘Migration products’ and the materialisation of urban speculation at Iskandar Malaysia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About