TWO new non-executive, independent directors have been appointed to the board of City Developments (CDL) with effect from Nov 20, the developer announced on Friday evening.

 

They are hospitality veteran Daniel Marie Ghislain Desbaillets, and Chong Yoon Chou, who is experienced in asset and fund management.

 

Mr Desbaillets, 70, has held various senior positions in international hotel chains including the Millennium & Copthorne Hotels group.

 

He had served as an independent, non-executive director of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels before its privatisation by CDL in 2019, as well as a member of the audit and risk, remuneration, and risk committees.

 

He was also an independent, non-executive director of M& C Reit Management, which manages CDL Hospitality Reit (real estate investment trust), and of M& C Business Trust Management, the trustee-manager of CDL Hospitality Business Trust.

 

He was a member of the nominating and remuneration committees of the aforesaid manager and trustee-manager prior to his stepping down from their boards in September 2016.

 

Mr Chong, 52, led the equity investment team at Aberdeen Asset Management, and managed US$380 billion in funds at Ostrum Asset Management Asia.

 

CDL said: " Taking into consideration both Mr Desbaillets and Mr Chong' s credentials and extensive experience in the hospitality and asset and funds management, respectively, the Board looks forward to their contributions of skills and diversity to the current core competencies of the Board."

I REFER to the Hock Lock Siew commentary " CDL' s near-term performance depends on Kweks resolving differences amicably" on Nov 19, 2020. It is speculative and irresponsible and - disappointingly for The Business Times - relies on hearsay and unverified " grapevine" source.

 

Your headline does no justice to City Developments Limited (CDL) which has been listed for 57 years and is one of the largest publicly quoted real estate companies in Singapore. Our success was achieved by carefully balancing annual financial returns with longer term strategies. Our track record is evinced by sustained dividends, increase in market value and asset base as well as many accolades for good governance.

 

Under the strong leadership of our executive chairman, Mr Kwek Leng Beng, CDL has navigated numerous challenges and economic cycles over five decades. He has steered and transformed CDL from losses into one of Asia' s most successful conglomerates, and a bellwether stock.

 

Covid-19 unleashed a major upheaval and impacted many businesses globally. The performance and outlook for businesses would have been vastly different if not for a crisis of such scale and ferocity. CDL is tackling these challenges head-on with practical and forward-thinking solutions of a strong management team and leadership. Our business remains viable and robust, and we are poised to ride on a recovery wave, backed by our diversified portfolio and strong balance sheet.

 

There are several bees in your writer' s bonnet. The first is CDL' s investment in Sincere Property Group. CDL has already announced the appointment of an external financial adviser to review this investment. The report will be made public in a few weeks. Let us take heed the experts' recommendations rather than pre-judge this investment to be " a lemon" .

 

Your writer' s second gripe relates to family differences within the privately held Hong Leong Investment Holdings, the single largest shareholder of CDL. While we appreciate her indulgence in the Kwek family tree, these are matters of a privately held entity.

 

She has relied on " grapevine" speculation that there is " enough support" to remove Mr Kwek. Surely in the spirit of good journalism and as a basic courtesy, she could have first asked for a view from the man himself? But she did not.

 

Neither do we appreciate her postulation that Mr Kwek should be replaced as executive chairman either by the cousin, Mr Kwek Leng Peck, who resigned recently as a non-executive, non-independent director of CDL, or by someone outside the Kwek family.

 

Surely such a task falls on the shoulders of the CDL board, in particular the nominating committee. And appointments or re-appointments to the Board must be approved by all shareholders. Of note, prior to his resignation, Mr Kwek Leng Peck was not involved in the day-to-day management of CDL' s businesses.

 

Your writer also opines that our group CEO, Mr Sherman Kwek (son of Mr Kwek Leng Beng) lacks experience, judging from " the current state of the Sincere investment" . This is unfair.

 

Mr Sherman Kwek has spent over 20 years in various roles within Hong Leong Group and other global corporations. He had headed major functions within CDL before being appointed group CEO in 2018. That year, he devised and spearheaded CDL' s Growth Enhancement Transformation (GET) strategy which grew our Singapore land bank, enhanced our existing asset base and expanded our presence in key markets such as Australia, China, Japan, UK and Vietnam.

 

Just this month, Hong Leong Group (CDL' s parent) was named winner of the EY Family Business Award of Excellence 2020 (BT was an official media partner).

 

The award recognised Hong Leong Group for its successful, sustainable and long-term oriented strategy, effective and transparent corporate governance approach. Your writer should note that the award does not cite near-term performance or speculation as criteria for business longevity or success.

 

CDL has relied on foresight and resilience to grow from strength to strength for close to 60 years, and will continue to do so for years to come.

 

Belinda Lee

Head, corporate communications and investor relations

City Developments Limited