Latest news with #SherylTianTongLee
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Billionaire Kwek's CDL sees muted profit rise after feud
By Low De Wei and Sheryl Tian Tong Lee (Bloomberg) – The Singapore developer controlled by the city-state's richest clan reported a small increase in profit in the first half of the year, a period overshadowed by a damaging family feud. City Developments Ltd.'s net income rose 3.9% to S$91.2 million ($71.1 million) in the first half of 2025 compared with a year ago. Revenue meanwhile increased to S$1.69 billion, an 8% jump. The firm said its profit growth was significantly hit by the US dollar's depreciation, which affected loans denominated in the currency, and weaker performance from its hotel operations segment. The country's second-largest developer by market capitalisation has sought to move on from a tussle between the father-son duo that leads the firm. It broke out just around its last earnings release in February and led to a short-lived lawsuit filed by Executive Chairman Kwek Leng Beng and other directors against the rest of the board, including his son and Chief Executive Officer Sherman Kwek, over an alleged boardroom coup. CDL's shares gained as much as 6.5% in morning trading Wednesday to reach their highest intraday level since December 2023. 'We have put past issues behind us, emerging stronger and more unified,' said the elder Kwek in a statement. 'The board and management are aligned and focused on effective execution and value creation.' Since then, the younger Kwek has made it a priority to reduce the company's debt load. A key strategy has been divestments – most notably, the sale of a majority stake in a S$2.75 billion office complex located in the heart of Singapore agreed earlier this year. It's inked about S$1.5 billion of divestments so far this year, which includes hotels in the US and other smaller commercial properties in Singapore. But CDL has also sought to make S$1.2 billion in investments, such as in land plots in the city-state. 'There's a pipeline of many more divestments to come,' the CEO said at a press conference on Wednesday. 'We're also going to seize on good opportunities that allow us to grow our future land bank,' he added. CDL is also planning to seek an initial public offering of a real estate investment trust for its UK commercial assets 'at the right time,' Sherman said. The firm's net debt-to-equity ratio – which includes the fair value on investment properties – edged down slightly to 70% from 72% at the end of the first quarter. Investors have so far cheered these efforts, with an upgrade from JPMorgan Chase & Co. in July. Along with a broader rally in property shares driven by a continued boom in the financial hub's residential market, the firm's shares has outperformed the country's benchmark stock index this year, with more than double its gains. Still, challenges remain. Tensions among board members were laid bare during a shareholders' meeting in April. More recently, a longtime ally of the patriarch chairman retired at the end of July after criticising some fellow directors at the meeting. (Updates with share movements and CEO's comments from press briefing. An earlier version corrected the first name in the photo caption.) More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Singapore outlines new emissions targets for 2035
By Sing Yee Ong and Sheryl Tian Tong Lee (Bloomberg) — Singapore aims to extend cuts to greenhouse gas emissions through 2035, though warned progress will depend on successful development of new technologies and continued global cooperation on areas like clean electricity imports. The city-state will aim to lower total emissions to between 45 million to 50 million tons by 2035, the National Climate Change Secretariat said in a statement Monday, outlining a new strategy submitted to the United Nations under the Paris Agreement. Emissions in 2023 were 74.3 million tons, according to data from the European Commission, and a previous goal set a target of 60 million tons by 2030. Hitting the lower bound of the new 2035 target would keep Singapore 'on a linear path to our net zero target in 2050,' the secretariat said. However, the nation has disadvantages in deploying renewables and the 'pace of decarbonisation depends heavily on developments in nascent mitigation technologies and international collaboration,' it said. Singapore, which currently relies on natural gas for over 90% of its electricity, is aiming to import cleaner power from neighbouring nations, and also studying the deployment of technologies including nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage. 'The devil is in the details,' said Melissa Low, research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions. 'We don't know how they're going to get there, whether by means of actual decarbonisation, or via removals and offsets or a combination of both.' The UN has urged nations to continue to devise more ambitious plans – known as Nationally Determined Contributions – to reduce emissions by the mid-2030s, even as most countries missed an initial 10 Feb deadline. The strategies are 'blueprints for stronger economies and societies,' Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations' climate body, said in a post to LinkedIn. 'They should cover every sector of the economy and every greenhouse gas.' More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
11-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Singapore Says Deeper Emissions Cuts Will Need New Technology
By and Sheryl Tian Tong Lee Save Singapore aims to extend cuts to greenhouse gas emissions through 2035, though warned progress will depend on successful development of new technologies and continued global cooperation on areas like clean electricity imports. The city-state will aim to lower total emissions to between 45 million to 50 million tons by 2035, the National Climate Change Secretariat said in a statement Monday, outlining a new strategy submitted to the United Nations under the Paris Agreement. Emissions in 2023 were 74.3 million tons, according to data from the European Commission, and a previous goal set a target of 60 million tons by 2030.
