Kwek family feud sours CDL’s prospects, but can catalyse value unlocking

INVESTORS buy into listed groups where families hold major stakes and are active in management, partly because they see families with skin in the game taking the long-term view in growing the business.

However, families are prone to conflict – and discord within billionaire business families makes for especially good drama but can hugely damage a company’s business prospects.

In 2020, non-executive director Kwek Leng Peck left City Developments Ltd (CDL), which is a member of the benchmark Straits Times Index, after more than three decades in the role, citing disagreement with the board and management on the group’s investment in Chinese firm Sincere Property Group, and reservations over the management of the UK-based hotel arm.