A frontrunner in real estate

WITH over 70 years of heritage, the Hong Leong Group (Singapore) of companies has grown alongside Singapore and has deeply entrenched itself locally and overseas in property development, hotels, financial services and trade and industry, and increasingly, fund management.

Just walk down Singapore's Central Business District and it would not be surprising to see several skyscrapers belonging to City Developments Limited (CDL), a member of Hong Leong, dotting Singapore's skyline.

Through its ventures overseas, CDL has also placed Singapore on the global map. Such deals include CDL's 1995 acquisition of the iconic New York Plaza Hotel with billionaire Saudi Prince Al-Waleed from tycoon Donald Trump and CDL's 1996 listing of its London hospitality subsidiary Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc (M&C), the first Singapore-controlled company to list on the London Stock Exchange.