Family feud 2.0: Billionaire Kwek clan’s drama rocks Singapore's CDL — again

The Kwek family, one of Singapore’s richest business dynasties, is back in the headlines — and not for breaking real estate records.

Their long-simmering boardroom feud at City Developments Ltd. (CDL) has flared up spectacularly, showing that even billionaires can’t always keep it in the family.

CDL — a.k.a. "CityDev" — is Singapore’s real estate rock star.

The company, founded in 1963, is one of city-state's biggest and boldest real estate giants, with interests beyond the small island nation.

CityDev has been building everything — malls, condos, hotels, and massive mixed-use developments that have shaped city skylines.

Now, a boardroom conflict has rocked the multi-billion-dollar developer.

Just last month, family patriarch and CityDev executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng, 84, dropped a lawsuit against his son, Sherman Kwek, the current CEO of CDL, in a bid to heal old wounds, as per local media.

For a moment, it looked like peace had returned.

Spoiler alert: It didn’t last.

According to Bloomberg, tensions have been boiling behind the scenes for months at CDL, one of Singapore’s largest listed property developers. 

The heart of the clash?

Allegations of a boardroom "coup" staged by Sherman and his allies, the South China Morning Post reported.

The drama burst into full public view last week during CDL’s 62nd Annual General Meeting (AGM).
What was supposed to be a media-perfect and polished corporate event turned into a corporate soap opera.

At the meeting, a senior board director openly blasted fellow board members, raising questions about loyalty, leadership, and — at one point — even comparing the boardroom battles to a “pit of snakes,” reported The Edge Singapore.

Shareholders, smelling the tension in the air, pounced with tough questions, cross-examinations, and demands for transparency.
The Straits Times reported that the dispute centred around the controversial appointment of two new independent directors earlier this year, a move seen by some as tipping the balance of power.

As the family squabble spilled out into the open, CDL shares slid, it’s down nearly 20% on Tuesday to S$4.93 (compared to the year-ago price of S$6.15, about $4.70) and the company’s once-polished image took another dent.

Investors, already rattled by a sluggish real estate market, were left wondering: can CDL survive its internal wars?

VnExpress International called the latest shareholder meeting a “disaster”, highlighting how personal grievances have now tangled with billion-dollar business decisions.

For decades, the Kwek family was seen as the gold standard of Asian family-run empires. 

Now, with Kwek Leng Beng battling health challenges and succession battles growing fiercer, the stability of CDL — and the legacy of the Kwek empire — hangs in the balance.

Will the family finally patch things up? Or are we just at Season 2, Episode 1 of Singapore’s ultimate corporate drama?