Choti Lamsam (; th, โชติ ล่ำซำ; ) was a Thai businessman who founded the
Kasikornbank
Kasikornbank ( th, ธนาคารกสิกรไทย, , Teochew: Khai-thài Ngîng-hâng, , stylised in all caps), often stylised as KBank and formerly known as the Thai Farmers Bank is a banking group in Thailand. KBank was establish ...
or otherwise known as the Thai Farmers Bank in 1945 with registered capital of
Baht
The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-most ...
5 Million. The bank has been listed on the
Stock Exchange of Thailand
The Stock Exchange of Thailand ( th, ตลาดหลักทรัพย์แห่งประเทศไทย), or SET, is the only stock exchange in Thailand. Founded on 30 April 1975, it is ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Asso ...
(SET) since 1976.
Choti was born in 1879 to a
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hun ...
family. His father, Ng Yuk Long, was a second generation
Thai Chinese
Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais), Thais of Chinese origin ( th, ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; ''exonym and also domestically''), endonym Thai people ( th, ชาวไทย), are Chinese descenda ...
with ancestry from Guangdong province. After Ng Meow Ngian, Yuk Long's father died, he took over and expanded the family's timber business. He also owned agricultural trading, saw mills and rice mills. After 1932, he set up an insurance and banking business. In 1939, Yuk Long was murdered by the local Chinese mafia. Choti and his brothers, Julin and Kasem, then took over the family business. During World War II, the banking industry started to grow and Choti established Thai Farmer Bank on June 8, 1945, focusing on retail banking and customers in the rural areas. Choti died in 1948 (2491 BE).
Choti Lamsam's grandson, Banthoon, is ranked as the 21st richest in Thailand, Forbes, 2014.
See also
*
Lamsam family
References
Choti Lamsam
Choti Lamsam
People from Meixian District
1879 births
1948 deaths
Choti Lamsam
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