IKEA to open outlet in Penang
Popular Swedish home furnishing store Ikea Store will be opening its first outlet in Penang with groundwork expected to commence by end of the year or early next year.
In announcing this, Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng said the Ikano Pte Ltd, the franchisee for Ikea in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, formed a joint venture with local company, Aspen Vision Land Sdn Bhd, to develop the integrated shopping mall in Batu Kawan.
The joint venture company, Aspen-Ikano bought the land from state agency, Penang Development Corporation, for 483.95 million ringgit.
“Aspen-Ikana has bought 245 acres (100 hectares) of land in Batu Kawan at RM483 million to develop an integrated shopping mall and mixed development of offices and residences,” Lim said.
The 245 acres will include 30 acres (12 hectares) for the first Ikea Store in the northern region of Malaysia and the first phase of the shopping mall.
Another 45 acres (18 hectares) is to be set aside for phase two of the shopping mall and 170 acres (69 hectares) for mixed development purposes.
Lim added that the entire commercial and mixed developments on the 245 acres of land are expected to be completed within 10 years from the date of Agreement.
“Notwithstanding that, the IKEA Store is to be developed and completed within the time frame mutually acceptable by both parties.
“The time frame that all parties are targeting at is about 5 years or sooner, depending on various surrounding, economic and demand factors.”
Lim said the state government is confident that the entry of IKEA into Batu Kawan is a vote of confidence for Penang and a boost to making Seberang Perai as the future choice for investments, tourism and habitat for sustainable living.
Source: ABN News
YES!!!
It will encourage property price at there to hike more. Penang people should oppose it.
Will go bankrupt in less than 2 years. All hype no buy
Great!!
Traffic jam in Batu Kawan soon… awesome…
You all please do not jealous la… I know you all very jealous one…
yes…. yes…. yes…..
buy buy buy there….yahoooooo
Great…good job ikea..mainland house property sure up up up…
IKEA baby chair… yippie…
Mainland property price sure up! Ikea + shopping mall. This will assist in diverting home seekers to stay in mainland. This is very good news!
Ikea meatballs! yippie!!
How can I apply for affordable house at Batu Kawan?
House price in mainland will be up high later….this is good news or bad news?
Is Batu Kawan housing mostly affordable house?
I wonder if there is any commercial properties for sale there?
BANDAR CASSIA!
Too far laaa.. should build in Tanjong Tokong!!!
bad news for furniture shops….
bandar cassia is a leasehold property.
The land in Batu Kawan is owned by PDC which is leasehold. If you want to buy in the heart of the Batu Kawan township, that is the only choice.
by the time 2nd bridge officially open, more project and plan will be announced by developer that already secure lnd bank. Those who has money to invest. Waste no more , act fast before investment cost go up.
Act fast for tose plan for home in mainland, gst coming in 2015. All material price is rising!
YaaaaaY. FIIIIIINAAAAALY. Lets hope No body Move In to the Display Setups Like Ikea Beijing HaHa. Also hope it does’nt take too long.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2404811/We-love-cool-furniture-People-beat-heat-Beijing-going-sleep-air-conditioned-IKEA–store-says-welcome.html
Ops, sorry to say that, Penang has the buying power like Klang Valley? No no no! Even Alor Star, SP and etc. come to support, also can’t help much! Recently we heard the largest shopping mall (larger than midvalley megamall) to be built on Jalan Baru, will that happen? I think Belleview also wait and see….then no more….May be, wait another 10 years la. Let’s see how the new shopping mall like gurney paragon; and see the upcoming city mall opposite island plaza, eSPICE, southbay plaza, and those half dead commercial lots at Bayan Baru area like D-Pizza & one world, and going to dead TGT, elite avenue, arena, and more.
Wait for another 10 years, everything will picking up slowly, now I think the shopping mall in Penang is a bit ‘oversupply’, although Queensbay and Gurney Plaza/Paragon super jam, but penang ppl only like these two area! feeling weird! The rest like Midland 1-Stop, Prangin/Komtar/1st avenue mall, Island Plaza, Time Square and Megamall are all half die! Sunway carnival, still ok la. Yeah, penang lang punya buying power, tak boleh pergi la.
Wait for another 10 years, everything will picking up slowly, now I think the shopping mall in Penang is a bit oversupply, although Queensbay and Gurney Plaza & Paragon super jam, but penang ppl only like these two area! feeling weird! The rest like Midland 1-Stop, Prangin/Komtar/1st avenue mall, Island Plaza, Time Square and Megamall are not doing well at all. Sunway carnival, still ok la. Yeah, penang lang punya buying power, tak boleh pergi la.
5 yrs to complete. So long.
developer will not simply invest without proper market survey. You will be surprised people from Alor Star or SP spend more than people from Penang. it’s simply because these people are debt free with stable monthly income. people stay in urban mostly in debt with monthly commitment on automobile and house.
Whether Ikea Penang will do well or not, i don’t care lah. But i am very happy that i don’t have to drive all the way down to KL to buy ikea stuff anymore, and when i buy one truck load of furniture, i don’t have to pay a thousand ringgit for them to deliver up north…:) thumbs up for that!
Whereas for penang consumers, it would surely bring more good than harm. Quality of life will improve, we don’t have to put up with crappy furniture anymore!
As much as I am excited to have ikea in penang, that doesn’t mean i would pack my bags and move to batu kawan so that i can stay next to ikea…:)
Ikea is coming to penang!!!! That is simply good news and i am quite sure penangites will have an Ikea in every new homes.
I love the chicken wings.. Hehe.
Don’t worry about the buying power… I am sure ikea had done the market research. How about the premium outlet mall going on?
@TL
Agree with you. Ikea will never risk their business opportunity for nothing. Their brand is well known. Coupled with the premium outlet mall and 2nd phase of shopping mall, batu kawan going to be crowded and property prices nearby will boom like nobody business!
Uncle Lim and his team is smart. They know the faster and best way to let people “see and feel” their works. Mainland people are happy to see this happen and their property price will appreciate fast..
The southern part of the mainland right off the second link will be booming e.g. Batu Kawan itself, Bandar Cassia, Sungai Bakap. Jawi. To a lesser extent, Tambun, Simpang Empat, Juru.
You ain’t see nothing yet. The Chunnel from Gurney Drive to Bagan Ajam will do wonders to the Northern mainland. Of course, you hear many baseless complains from the you know who! Federal law does not allow the State to build bridges, the Chunnel is not a bridge! Very Smart!
@xme
Oh wow! The super Cuntnel from Gurney to Bagan Ajam!
2 years later got premium outlet, 5 years later got IKEA… Batu Kawan rocks!!!
Who cares about whether Ikea does market research or not? It’s their money, if they want to invest to build, let them. I’m happy I don’t have to go all the way down to KL to buy Ikea next time.
Just like Aeon BM, who cares if they have invested millions into that outlet and finally it didn’t work out. The surrounding residents have already enjoyed the convenience for years by the time Aeon realizes there’s no money to be made there…..:)
Bandar Perda, BM. That is a freaking place with bad Fung Sui. I bought in 1996 a 3-storey shoplot for RM550K, Sold in 2008 for RM580K. With rentals, I think the return was like putting in a FD. It was bad business for the Chinese restaurant which was closed even after AEON opened.
If it had been a TESCO, it has a better chance to succeed! The AEON JUSCO JAP store is expensive!
I feel sorry for the buyers of the WET & DRY PASAR. It is a huge building but with all the restrictions, nobody wants to go there. There is a new project BM City Mall which I think will also fail miserably!
Bandar Perda was/is a failed project. Across the railway track, it is booming! I hope that you are smart enough to guess the reason!
Once the second link is opened, it will boom!
For shopping, the Penang Premium Outlets and now IKEA. Pavillion will be next! The new mall will be at least 3 times the size of Queesbay Mall.
For higher educations, the University of Hull and KDU.
For leisures, the yet-to-be announced team park & golf resort, just across Pulau Aman.
Most of the shopping mall on mainland is doing poorly! That’s why i am in doubt if Belleview still want to proceed with their largest shopping mall in northern region at Jalan Baru. Wait for another 10 years, mainland still got hope.
Its wonder news for me.
I am a ikea lover and will buy house furniture from there.
Thanks god because most msia-made-furniture is so tasteless.
Tambun and simpang ampat is nearer to batu kawan, compare with jawi
Good news to me:) i love ikea furniture. No need to go all the way to damansara anymore. By the time ikea complete, there will be many new condo n house complete as well n require furniture.
Less than 20mins drive away, Southbay and Batu Maung on the island will be benefited from IKEA, premium outlet, and all the development in Batu Kawan.
All development within 20mins driving distance will benefit from this development. Of course nearer is better but some may say jam and live further away (10 to 20mins away) would be better, like those property is pearl city..
My kids like their auto machine ice-cream.
I heard Aeon Perda and the mall owner have some conflict. This is why they can’t even decide on the parking fee collection… Too bad. After Aeon move out, pacific or parks on will move in. Don’t worry, the mall will have total make over. The place will be happening again once the flyover bridge from Desa Damai completedd.
I actually think Aeon Sbrng Prai is very well designed and easy to navigate compared to some other malls with dead ends and no ‘flow’. Each outlet and all corners of the place gets even distribution of foot traffic. And the Festive decor is better then Sunway Cnrval. Very sad to see so many shops in Aeon shut. The supermarket actually has a fair amount of shoppers from what I see. Bottom line , Aeon is not a mall apokalypse on the scale of say, P Times Sqre.
Out of topic. 10 years ago, Ikea fill my first house almost 80%. Using Ikea lorry to bring in the whole bunch of stuff. Love my work but my wife complaint the house looks so cheap.
Today, renovated my terras and there is 0% Ikea inside. to be frank, it looks much elegant. Maybe that time everything also budget, causing my house to be budget look.
Ikea coming to PG shows that this market is recognized. Perfect for Island or mainland user.
@TL
May i know the flyover bridge at Desa Damai is flying (connected) from where to where ?
Why it need to take 5 yrs to build a warehouse Ikea because there are no enough spending power n population for ROI, the plan is still uncertainty. Could take 10 yrs only Ikea will open its door for penang.
@Buyer II
Maybe… :>)
Batu Kawan will be a well planned township with Ikea, premium outlet, new malls, theme park, golf course, turf club, univercity etc. There will be enough room to plan for proper highways, roads and other infrastructure. If there is any gated/guarded housing project, I don’t mind getting a unit. It is better then Balik Pulau.
Dedaun is the best property in that area so far..g&g..i miss one last 2 years.
@Fin,
I agree with you. It might not be now, even if it takes 10 years to develop the place up to a decent standard, it’s ok. At least the people of Penang are given a choice for affordable housing in a new, modern, well-planned township. But this time the state gov has to be careful to not let private developers control housing supply there. Instead, the state should control the land supply, and control the developers’ profit margins.
@botakhead,
Most of the land in Batu Kawan belong to PDC and Equine. State government had actually jack up the land price to $45 per Sq ft when they sold the land to Ikea at 484 million over 245 acres. This is 50% higher then BM, Kulim, Seberang Prai area. Same as how they jack up the land price of Tanjung Tokong to $1000 per Sq ft.
This place is getting interesting, and yet very challenging. It is too early to tell the success and term it a mini Iskandar because the development is sorely depend to private sector.
@Fin
I used to travel to central and loaded my car with ikea stuff and i will still visit ikea every now and then. It never getz boring being there, kudos to the state government for bringing this to penang. This is a very huge mall with 245 acres of land.
@Hemsley
Penang island is “mini Singapore” then?
@Fin
The problem is this, you sell the land cheap, developer will max out the price to it’s “full potential”, but if you sell the land at a higher price, developer will say land expensive, they sell even higher. We can’t do things the way it’s done now. So essentially, you cannot control their margins by land price.
State gov has to be more creative in controlling developers, not the other way round. Spore gov has a few tricks, example, developers are not allowed to hog land, the moment they buy the land, it has to be developed within a strict time frame, failing which developers will be fined heavily. Again, once a project is launched, the units have to be sold out within a strict time frame, failing which developers will be fined by the number of units left unsold, etc. I am not saying we should do this in Penang, but the state has to go beyond conventional…..:)
@siosamong
Well said.
@Sundra
There are some similarities between Penang and S’pore, but Penang is Penang. Many still think Penang is a better living place compared to S’pore.
Those term Bt Kawan as mini Iskandar because the local gov is putting a lot of effort to bring up the area, and it is the focus of developments for Penang state. That’s all. Don’t think too much.
@Jojo
The land for Ikea is only 30 acres, the rest is for shopping mall and other mix developement.
In the future Penang people will travel to Batu Kawan for shopping. Future mega mall, mega furniture centre, car showroom, factory outlets etc will be built there. This is because lots of landbank available there at much cheaper price.