Property giant CDL’s shares plummet as trade resumes amid feud between Singapore’s 4th richest billionaire Kwek Leng Beng and CEO son

By Minh Hieu March 2, 2025 | 07:51 pm PT

City Developments Limited (CDL) logo is seen on a building in Singapore May 26, 2016. Photo by Reuters

Property giant City Developments Limited’s shares plunged on Monday as trading resumed after a three-day suspension triggered by an ongoing boardroom dispute between Singaporean billionaire Kwek Leng Beng and his son, the firm’s group CEO.

CDL shares slumped 7% from their last closing price on Feb. 25 to S$4.76 (US$3.53) on Monday morning, hitting their lowest level since 2009, Bloomberg reported.

The stock later pared some losses, rebounding to S$4.95, down 3.3%, and was one of the most actively traded stocks by volume, with 5.8 million shares changing hands for a total of S$28 million, according to CNA.

The firm, Singapore’s largest listed property developer, suspended trading last Wednesday as its executive chairman Leng Beng announced a lawsuit against his son Sherman Kwek, the firm’s group CEO, and several board members and directors, accusing the group of sidestepping the nomination committee to install new directors without proper vetting and pushed through major changes to board committees and corporate governance.

Since then, both sides have released multiple public statements, with Leng Beng highlighting "missteps" under his son's leadership and Sherman attributing the dispute to his father's long-time adviser, Catherine Wu.

In a Monday filing with the Singapore Exchange cited, CDL affirmed that its business operations remain "fully functional and unaffected," as reported by The Straits Times.

"It is business as usual. Mr Sherman Kwek remains the group CEO until such time as there is a board resolution to change company leadership," it said.

It also said that it would not weigh in on the validity of recent allegations, as many are tied to ongoing court proceedings.

Following a closed-door High Court hearing last Wednesday, Leng Beng said the two "irregularly and hastily appointed" directors, Jennifer Duong Young and Wong Su Yen, and Sherman’s group have agreed not to take more actions until further court notice.

Both sides have appointed lawyers to represent them in another private case conference at Singapore’s Supreme Court set to be held on Tuesday.

Forbes estimated Leng Beng and his family’s combined net worth at US$11.5 billion as of last September, ranking him as Singapore’s fourth-richest billionaire.