What happened
Siam Piwat Group, the company behind the Siam Paragon and ICONSIAM malls in Bangkok, plans a 10 billion baht project on Phuket, Thailand's biggest island. That is roughly $300 million.
The scheme, named ICONPHUKET, is the group's first large commercial venture outside the capital. Siam Piwat is betting on growing numbers of foreign visitors to southern Thailand. Groundwork on the site has already started.
Part of a larger district
ICONPHUKET will be the commercial heart of Synthesis Ark Phuket, a mixed-use smart city project by CV Group of Companies on more than 80 hectares. The whole district is valued at 50 billion baht, about $1.5 billion.
Plans for Synthesis Ark include condominiums, high-end villas, office towers, hotels and healthcare facilities. ICONPHUKET is due to open in 2029, with the district's complete first phase following in 2032.
More than a mall
Siam Piwat pitches ICONPHUKET as a blend of shopping, attractions and entertainment that breaks with the usual mall format. Once finished, it expects between 80,000 and 100,000 people to visit each day.
The developers estimate Synthesis Ark will support 50,000 to 80,000 direct and indirect jobs across construction and operation. Siam Piwat says it controls more than 70% of Thailand's luxury retail floor space.
Siam Piwat leads the Thai market for high-end retail property, a position built on its flagship Bangkok malls. ICONPHUKET will be the group's first major commercial project outside the capital.
Why Phuket
Thai daily The Nation reports that Phuket's hotel and property markets have seen strong demand since the pandemic, helped by direct international flights and continued foreign investment in housing and leisure facilities.
Phuket has long competed with Bali for the same buyers: foreigners looking for resort property to live in or rent out. Both islands sell a similar product of villas, condominiums and tourist services.
How foreigners buy on each island
In Thailand, as in Indonesia, foreigners generally cannot own land outright. Villas on Phuket are therefore usually sold to foreign buyers on long-term land leases, while condominium units can be owned freehold within a legal quota for foreign ownership.
In Bali the standard route for foreigners is leasehold, or Hak Sewa, a long-term land lease for a fixed term. Comparing the two islands means looking beyond price to the legal form of ownership, the length of the right and the terms for extending it.
What it means for Bali
Big capital is flowing into Phuket's infrastructure. The plans include a major retail and entertainment hub, offices, healthcare and new residential blocks.
These are still plans, though groundwork on the site has begun. ICONPHUKET will not open before 2029 and the first phase of the district is slated for 2032. Buyers should compare infrastructure that exists today, not renderings.