I REFER to the " Mark To Market" commentary published in The Business Times on Oct 26.

Your writer has taken the occasion of a resignation of a director who had expressed differences of opinion in business direction to weigh in on the relative financial performance of City Developments Limited (CDL).

From the onset, CDL has cherished active contributions from a diversified board with eminent directors. Their different viewpoints and spirit of transparency have made the company stronger.

As to your writer' s assertion of CDL' s weaker Return on Equity (ROE) in recent years, please note the following:

2. Our Growth, Enhancement and Transformation (GET) strategy was unveiled in 2018. While a sizeable land bank and steady launch pipeline in Singapore remain integral, GET involves major efforts to increase recurring income and enhance business sustainability asset quality and capital recycling, while seeking transformation through new platforms of growth. It includes fund management, new partnerships and value creation that cannot be measured just by ROE or price-to-book valuations each financial year.

3. A key tenet of GET is how CDL can remain resilient in the face of future unknowns, such as the pandemic. In line with this strategy, CDL privatised Millennium & Copthorne Hotels last year. Full control of this chain of 145 hotels has allowed us to improve the cost structures and efficiencies much more decisively and swiftly. Had it not done so, the operational and financial impact from Covid-19 since the start of 2020 would have been more severe.

More importantly, it enabled CDL to take the first steps to recalibrate this valuable footprint to refurbish where necessary and to unlock values and synergies for the group on a global scale. In time, shareholder value will be enhanced.

4. In the same spirit, the decision to invest in Sincere Property Group has enabled CDL to tap a sizeable land bank and footprint across China, a country with a large population. It offers heft, depth and economies of scale, on which we can build a platform for growth for the entire CDL Group. The potential of Sincere has been carefully deliberated. More details will be unveiled after an evaluation and review by a leading financial advisor.

Since the Kwek family took over the listed company about 50 years ago, CDL under the leadership of Mr Kwek Leng Beng (the current executive chairman) has grown from strength to strength through many economic cycles and challenges. Our longevity and success are underpinned by a strong management team that is willing to embrace transformation and execute plans to deliver sustained shareholder value.