Malaysian property developer Mahajaya Bhd said on Monday it has signed a joint-venture pact to develop a 600 million yuan (US$73 million) satellite city in China's Hubei province in its first foray overseas.

Mahajaya's 30 percent-owned associate company, Mahajaya Hubei Ltd will team up with the Caidian district government in Wuhan to develop Changfu Satellite City, Mahajaya managing director William Tan Ming Wai was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

Construction is expected to start in January on some 2,000 hectares, comprising a mix of residential, commercial and industrial lots to be developed over eight years, he said.

The new venture in China raised the Mahajaya's group order book to RM1.4 billion and the company would fund the investment through internal funds as well as local and offshore bank borrowings, he said.

Tan said the Caidian district government in Wuhan was entitled to 10 percent of the project's profit. Mahajaya is also hunting for more projects overseas and is waiting for news on a one billion ringgit offer in the United Arab Emirates, he said without giving details.