Kartar Singh Thakral



Singapore Infopedia

Background

Kartar Singh Thakral (b. 22 September 1933, Bangkok, Thailand–) is an executive director of Singapore-listed Thakral Corporation. An active community leader, he serves as a trustee to the Singapore Sikh Education Foundation and the Sri Grur Nanak Satsang Sabha.1 In 1996, he was named Businessman of the Year 1995 at the annual Singapore Business Awards.2

Early life
Kartar was born in Thailand in 1933 and educated at Assumption College in Bangkok.3 The fifth of seven children, he was groomed in the family business at an early age.

The family enterprise originated from humble roots. His father, Sohan Singh Thakral, became an orphan at age nine after his entire family, except him and his younger brother, succumbed to an epidemic. Sohan met Kirpa Singh, an elderly Sikh, and shortly after migrated from Pakistan to Thailand to help the latter with his textile business there. He peddled textiles in Bangkok for several years before setting up his own retail shop, Punjab Store, in 1905. In 1936, Sohan opened a branch in Japan as he believed he would make better profits if he bought the textiles directly from the suppliers. When World War II broke out, the family returned to Thailand.4

Move to Singapore
In 1952, Kartar, then 19, was sent by his father to set up a branch in Singapore. Named Thakral Brothers, the office was located at High Street. In the same year, Kartar married a local Punjabi girl.5

Business success
In 1973, Thakral Brothers registered as a limited company. Kartar displayed business acumen and foresight like his father and was able to stay ahead of his competitors by identifying opportunities in emerging markets. Seeing the potential in electronics, Kartar branched out into electronic distribution in 1975. Having operated in Japan since 1936, the company was able to secure distribution rights to many Japanese consumer electronic brands, and was thus well-positioned to ride on the Japanese electronics boom in the 1970s and ‘80s. The electronic distribution business grew substantial enough that in 1982, Kartar established Thakral Corporation as a separate operation under the Thakral Group, and the company was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.6

Kartar also exported television sets and video cassette recorders to India in the early 1980s. When the market became saturated with products from Indian manufacturers and other importers, Kartar exited the sector and turned his attention to China. As he had already established a textile business in China since the 1960s, Thakral Corporation entered the Chinese electronic market once China reversed its communist policies. Hence Thakral Corporation secured rights to distribute Japanese brands in China and gained a foothold in the Chinese market, enjoying tremendous success until the mid-1990s.7

Kartar was the chairman of the Thakral Group of Companies from its listing until 31 December 2011.8 Under his guidance, the Thakral Group of Companies also invested in several real estate projects. It then started a public-listed entity, Thakral Holdings, which focused on Australian hospitality real estate assets. Thakral Holdings used to be one of the largest foreign owners and operators of hotels in Australia. When it was delisted in 2012, the company’s total assets were valued at A$1.064 billion.9

As of 2023, the group has invested in real estate in Australia, Japan and Singapore, and also in beauty, fragrance and lifestyle brands in China, Southeast Asia and India.10

Recognition and accolades
Kartar’s achievements and success did not go unnoticed by the government. In 1994, he was appointed as a director of the Singapore Trade Development Board by the Ministry for Trade and Industry, for four years until 31 December 1998. He was also appointed as a member of the Committee to Promote Enterprise Overseas (under the Ministry of Finance), and a member of the Regional Business Forum, an event by the Singapore Business Federation.11

Thakral Group’s astounding rise from a small textile shop to a multi-million-dollar international business has garnered admiration and accolades from the business community. In 1996, Kartar was named Businessman of the Year 1995 at the Singapore Business Awards, while Thakral Brothers was named Singapore’s top privately held company at the Enterprise 50 awards for 1995.12

Community involvement
Kartar is an active community leader and has held several positions in various organisations. He served as a trustee of the Singapore Indian Development Association from 1991 to 2006 and is also a trustee to the Singapore Sikh Education Foundation and Sri Grur Nanak Satsang Sabha. He is a patron of the Singapore Khalsa Association and the Sikh Welfare Council.13

Family
Father: Sohan Singh Thakral
Mother: Attar Kaur
Wife: Narinda Kaur
Children: Four sons and one daughter14



Author
Isabel Ong



References
1. Malminderjit Singh et al. eds., Singapore at 50: 50 Sikhs and Their Contributions (Singapore: Young Sikh Association, 2015), 150, 153 (Call no. RSING 294.6095957 SIN); Low Kar Tiang ed., Who’s Who in Singapore 2006 (Singapore: Who’s Who Publications, 2006), 516. (Call no. RSING 920.05957 WHO)
2. "Another feather in the cap for Thakral," Straits Times, 30 March 1996, 46. (From NewspaperSG)
3. Tommy Koh et al. eds., Singapore: The Encyclopedia (Singapore: Editions Didier Millet in association with National Heritage Board, 2006), 560. (Call no. RSING 959.57003 SIN-[HIS])
4. Madhu Madan, Yamini Vasudevan and Rita Raman, Singapore Indian Entrepreneurs: Dreams to Reality (Singapore: Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, 2004), 73. (Call no. RSING 338.0409225957 MAD); Gurmukh Singh, The Global Indian: The Rise of Sikhs Abroad (New Delhi: Rupa & Co, 2003), 171. (Call no. RSING q305.6946 GUR); Malminderjit Singh et al., Singapore at 50, 150.
5. Madan, Singapore Indian Entrepreneurs, 73; Singh, Global Indian, 171.
6. Madan, Singapore Indian Entrepreneurs, 74; Kulwant Singh, Nitin Pangarkar and Loizos Heracleous, Business Strategy in Asia: A Casebook, 4th ed. (Singapore: Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd, 2013), 279. (Call no. RSING 658.4012095 SIN)
7. Madan, Singapore Indian Entrepreneurs, 74; Shamsul Amri Baharuddin and Arunajeet Kaur eds., Sikhs in Southeast Asia: Negotiating an Identity (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2011), 193. (Call no. RSING 305.694659 SIK); Singh, Pangarkar and Heracleous, Business Strategy in Asia, 279–80. (Call no. RSING 658.4012095 SIN)
8. “Thakral Corp,” Straits Times, 2 January 2012, 14. (From NewspaperSG)
9. Malminderjit Singh et al., Singapore at 50, 151.
10. “About,” Thakral Corporation, accessed 2 January 2024, https://web.archive.org/web/20230610091024/https://thakralcorp.com/about#brand-management.
11. Malminderjit Singh et al., Singapore at 50, 152–53.
12. “Thakral – From Small Textile Partnership to Trading Giants,” Straits Times, 10 February 1996, 46 (From NewspaperSG); “Another Feather in the Cap for Thakral.” 
13. Malminderjit Singh et al., Singapore at 50, 153.
14. Low, Who’s who in Singapore 2006, 516.



The information in this article is valid as of June 2023 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.


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