Bulakul family
| Bulakul บูลกุล Saema | |
|---|---|
| Parent family | Ma family |
| Current region | Bangkok |
| Place of origin | Guangdong, China |
| Founded | 1888 |
| Founder | Ma Tong-zen (1888, immigrant) Mah Bulakul (1941, adopted surname) |
| Current head | Chan Bulakul |
The Bulakul family (Thai: บูลกุล) is one of Thailand's first and oldest business and political families and is of Cantonese Chinese descent, descended from the Ma clan.[1] It traces its origins to Ma Tong-zen (Chinese: 馬棠政, 1871–1923), an engineer who immigrated to Siam in 1888, and his son Ma Liap-khun (馬立群, 1897–1964), who adopted the Thai name Mah Bulakul (มา บูลกุล) in 1941, the surname being granted by Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram, under royal decree.[2] Mah built his fortune from rice milling starting in the early 20th century and was part of the "Big Five" families across Asia to control rice trade, while also holding prominent political positions.[1] In 1956, Mah's daughter Niramol Bulakul was the first Thai woman to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Master of Science (SM).[3]
Beginning in the 1980s, the Bulakul family was one of the families who partnered with Japanese trading houses in Thailand and chaired the Thai-Japanese Association.[4] The family's business holdings has since expanded under his descendants to form a conglomerate covering real estate, financial services, retail, shipping, food, and media.[5][6][7]
Among the family's holdings and past ventures are the Mah Boon Krong Drying and Silo Company, which expanded into retail under Mah's son Sirichai Bulakul and developed Mahboonkrong Center, the largest shopping mall in Asia when it opened in 1985, and now part of the MBK Group;[5] Farm Chokchai, an 8,000 acre ranch and one of the largest dairy farms in Asia;[8] The Brooker Group, a listed financial services focused on alternative assets.[9] The majority of the family's businesses remain in real estate and are privately held.
References
- ^ a b "HERMES-IR : Research & Education Resources". hermes-ir.lib.hit-u.ac.jp. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ^ "มา บูลกุล พ่อที่ลูกๆ ไม่ถอดแบบ". Manager (in Thai). August 1986. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "Timeline: Progress for Women". Under the Lens: Women Biologists and Chemists at MIT (1865-2024). Retrieved 2026-01-20.
- ^ "Alumnae Achievement Awards - Niramol Bulakul Suriyasat".
- ^ a b "Historic Southeast Asian companies forge new paths to success". Nikkei Asia. Archived from the original on 2021-09-06. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ Wilson, Ara (2004-07-19). The Intimate Economies of Bangkok: Tomboys, Tycoons, and Avon Ladies in the Global City. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-93743-7.
- ^ Bertrand, Marianne (7 April 2008). "Mixing family with business: A study of Thai business groups and the families behind them". Journal of Financial Economics. 88 (3): 466–498. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.365.588. doi:10.1016/j.jfineco.2008.04.002.
- ^ Phoonphongphiphat, Apornrath (8 April 2017). "Steer the course". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ "Leadership Insight: 5 Questions with Chan Bulakul". Business Insider. Retrieved 6 September 2021.