Latest news with #CityDevelopmentsLtd.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Singapore Kwek clan's CDL investor meeting turns acrimonious
By: Low De Wei and Sheryl Tian Tong Lee (Bloomberg) — A longtime board member of City Developments Ltd., the property giant controlled by Singapore's wealthiest family, lashed out at several other directors on Wednesday over a recent feud that rocked the developer and the billionaire Kwek clan. The Singapore-listed company's annual general meeting was meant to show a united front between its executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng, his son and chief executive officer Sherman Kwek, and the rest of its 11-member board. Instead, sparks flew after several directors began bickering about how two new board members were hurriedly appointed in February, after they were voted in by a majority of the board despite the chairman's opposition. The development caused a rift within the Kwek family, and led Leng Beng to seek Sherman's dismissal as CEO shortly after. 'I am very disappointed in the way the two new directors were appointed,' said Philip Yeo, a former top Singapore civil servant who has been a non-executive director at CDL since 2009. He said he opposed the reelection of the pair and two other directors at Wednesday's shareholders meeting. The Kwek family feud became public in late February, when the elder Kwek accused Sherman of orchestrating a boardroom coup at CDL — an allegation the CEO denied. That month, the octogenarian, Yeo and two other CDL directors filed a lawsuit in a Singapore court against Sherman and a majority of the board. After the dispute escalated, the case was dropped in mid-March. A statement from Leng Beng then said he and Sherman would continue in their roles, and all board members had 'agreed to put aside their differences for the greater good of CDL and its stakeholders.' Yeo's remarks showed that there are still tensions among board members of the 62-year-old company. Jennifer Duong Young, who spent 21 years at Credit Suisse, and Wong Su-Yen, a former chair of the Singapore Institute of Directors, joined CDL's board in February. They were nominated by two independent CDL directors on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, and appointed a week and a half later. The company said in its annual report that their appointments took place 'without the usual process of prior review and recommendation' by the board's nominating committee. When asked on Wednesday to justify her rushed appointment, Wong came up with an analogy of a doctor bypassing hospital protocol requiring parental consent for a life-saving procedure, in order to save a child bitten by a venomous snake. 'If I wait, and I cannot find the parent, the child may die,' she said. She was interrupted by Yeo, who said independent director appointments should be unanimously approved, in his view. 'There must be consensus. It should not be by a majority of directors pushing, and disregarding the chairman,' Yeo said. He said some CDL directors put themselves on the board of the company's Millennium & Copthorne Hotels subsidiary without the approval of Leng Beng, who is also the unit's chairman. 'That's totally improper,' Yeo said. Despite Yeo's comments, which drew applause from some meeting attendees, all five of CDL's independent directors who were up for reelection were reappointed on Wednesday afternoon by an overwhelming majority of shareholders. The Kwek clan owns nearly half of CDL's shares, with ownership spread among multiple family members. In a presentation about CDL's performance, Sherman said the developer has gone through a difficult period and is 'at one of the lowest points.' The 49-year-old added that the recent board dispute has also affected its shareholders. The company earlier reported a 37% drop in 2024 profit to S$201.3 million ($153 million), missing analysts' estimates. Sherman said CDL's interest expenses of S$589 million last year eroded profits, and reducing its high debt load is a priority. Referring to the interest payments CDL had to make, he quipped that it sometimes feels like 'I'm working for the bank.' Around 450 people attended CDL's annual general meeting, according to a company spokesperson. It was held at one of the company's downtown Singapore hotels, and there was an overflow room and webcast to accommodate the larger-than-usual turnout. 'The meeting was quite a disaster,' said Gary Saw, a CDL shareholder who attended the event. 'It shows a real division among the management, board, and interests of minority shareholders,' said the 56-year-old. He said the 'unnecessary conflicts' have hurt CDL's share price, and been detrimental to its shareholders. 'Family businesses will have family dynamics but this shouldn't be happening in a professionally run company,' said Saw, who works at a tech startup. CDL's shares have declined more than 70% from a 2007 peak, and have underperformed most Singapore-listed real estate stocks since Sherman became the company's CEO in 2018. They were down around 4% this year through Wednesday's close. Sherman pledged at the meeting to improve CDL's performance, saying that it expects divestments in 2025 to exceed the roughly S$600 million the developer made in 2024. The firm fell short of a S$1 billion target that year. He also said he will explore listing CDL's UK assets under a real estate investment trust when market conditions permit, after a previous planned listing a few years ago was shelved. 'The results are unsatisfactory,' he said in response to another question. 'I'm not making excuses.' More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
23-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Singapore Kwek Clan's CDL Annual Meeting Descends Into Chaos
A longtime board member of City Developments Ltd., the property giant controlled by Singapore's richest family, lashed out at other directors on Wednesday over a recent feud that rocked the developer and the billionaire Kwek clan. The Singapore-listed company's annual general meeting was meant to show a united front between Kwek Leng Beng, its executive chairman, and his son Sherman Kwek, the company's chief executive officer. Instead, fireworks flew after several board members began bickering about the appointments of two new directors that a majority of the board pushed through in February, which had caused a rift within the Kwek family.
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Billionaire Kwek Family Pledges To Uphold Governance Standards At CDL After Boardroom Tussle
Kwek Leng Beng, chairman of City Developments Ltd., right, and Sherman Kwek, chief executive ... More officer, during a news conference in Singapore, on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. Billionaire Kwek Leng Beng, executive chairman of City Developments Ltd. (CDL) and his son, Sherman, have pledged to uphold the highest standards of corporate governance after a boardroom brawl between the two top executives sent the company's shares tumbling. The feud between the father and son became public in late February after Kwek Leng Beng, executive chairman of the company, sued Sherman, group CEO, for control of the Singapore-listed property developer. In the case filed with the Singapore High Court, the elder Kwek accused Sherman of instigating a boardroom coup by appointing two new board members without proper vetting by the nomination committee. The lawsuit has since been withdrawn and both have agreed to settle their differences. 'The board and the management team will continue to strengthen the group's business and ensure long-term value creation while upholding the highest standards of governance,' the elder Kwek said in CDL's latest annual report released on Tuesday. 'We remain focused on delivering shareholder value.' City Developments shares have fallen 12% this year and the company had lost its spot as Singapore's most valuable publicly traded property company. CDL reported in February a 37% decline in 2024 net profit to S$201.3 million ($150.5 million) from the previous year. 'Our pledge to the highest standards of corporate governance and transparency is the group's guiding principle as we work to rise above challenges,' Sherman said in the annual report. The feud had cast the limelight on one of Singapore's wealthiest families with an estimated net worth of $11.5 billion. It was settled after Catherine Wu, an adviser at the center of the boardroom tussle, resigned. CDL extensively discussed the feud in its 2024 annual report. While the appointment of two new directors deviated from the company's usual practice, the board said the actions were 'necessary and appropriate' due to the governance concerns in relation to Wu's role as adviser for City Developments' hotel arm Millennium & Copthorne.
Bloomberg
26-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Father-Son Feud Plunges Singapore's Richest Family Into Crisis
An alleged boardroom coup attempt, a lawsuit between a family patriarch and his son, and accusations of corporate governance lapses — even by the standards of Asian succession drama, the family feud raging at Singapore's Kwek dynasty stands out. City Developments Ltd., the financial hub's biggest listed developer, plunged into crisis Wednesday when its billionaire Chairman Kwek Leng Beng, 84, accused his son, the firm's chief executive officer, of orchestrating a boardroom coup. He and CDL filed a lawsuit against the younger Kwek.
