2025 in review: CDL spat, Hyflux trial among corporate events that shook Singapore

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s corporate landscape in 2025 was marked by several significant events and scandals that underscored the city-state’s resilience and the ongoing challenges in maintaining corporate governance. Here is a list of pivotal occurrences:

Equity Market Development Programme

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Financial Sector Development Fund launched on Feb 21

the Equity Market Development Programme

, a $5 billion initiative to deepen liquidity and broaden investor participation in Singapore-listed equities.

It includes mandates such as asset managers based in Singapore investing substantially in local equities, tax incentives for fund managers investing at least 30 per cent in Singapore equities, and corporate tax rebates for new listings.

In July, MAS said $1.1 billion had been placed with three asset managers – Avanda, Fullerton and JP Morgan – under the first tranche of the programme. 

This is one of the most consequential reforms in Singapore’s capital market in recent years. It signals a push to revitalise listed equities, improve small and mid-cap participation, and enhance the asset management ecosystem here.

Boardroom dispute at CDL 

In early 2025, City Developments Limited (CDL) executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng accused his son and chief executive officer Sherman Kwek

of orchestrating a boardroom takeover

by pushing through the appointment of independent directors and restructuring board committees without full board approval. 

The spat raised issues over governance and independence of board members, rattling confidence in one of Singapore’s largest property and hotel groups.

It highlighted weaknesses in succession planning, board independence and transparency in family-controlled businesses. While the older Mr Kwek

withdrew a lawsuit he was pursuing against his son

, the feud shook investor confidence, impacted CDL’s share price, and increased the need for asset sales and a focus on improving profitability and returns to shareholders.  

Income Insurance

The

failed deal between German insurer Allianz and local insurer Income Insurance

in 2024 was dragged back into the spotlight during Singapore’s 2025 General Election, with debates centred on why Singapore officials – who were at first fine with the deal, but later changed their minds – failed to ask questions at the time.

At an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held on Oct 30 by NTUC Enterprise, the parent of Income, Mr Lim Boon Heng said

that he took “ultimate responsibility”

for Allianz’s proposed offer for Income being withdrawn.

During the EGM, the 77-year-old also announced his

retirement as chairman of NTUC Enterprise

.

OCBC’s attempt to fully acquire and delist Great Eastern

Minority shareholders of Great Eastern

voted against OCBC Bank’s proposal

to privatise the insurer. 

At an EGM on July 8, 63.49 per cent of minority shareholders supported the delisting, falling short of the 75 per cent required to proceed.

OCBC, which has made several attempts to privatise the insurer, had offered $30.15 per share for the 6.28 per cent of Great Eastern it did not own, increasing its earlier offer by nearly 18 per cent.

With the failed bid, Great Eastern announced it would issue additional shares to maintain compliance with the minimum public float requirement. This adjustment would reduce OCBC’s stake to about 88 per cent, from around 94 per cent.

Hyflux trial

In August, the

criminal trial began for former CEO Olivia Lum and others

relating to the collapse of Hyflux and the alleged failures concerning the Tuaspring project, Singapore’s second and largest desalination plant, which also included a power plant. 

The project incurred massive losses, with the company reporting its first net loss in 2017 and struggling with nearly $3 billion in debt. Hyflux was placed under judicial management in November 2020 and

approved for winding-up on July 21, 2021

.

The case affects around 34,000 investors and about $900 million in losses via perpetual securities and preference shares from Hyflux’s winding up. 

This is considered one of Singapore’s largest corporate scandals. It underscores the risks of project finance complexity, disclosure failures, investor losses and the need for stronger investor protection frameworks.

Seatrium

In July, Seatrium, formerly part of Keppel Corp, announced it

would pay about US$168 million (S$217 million) to the Brazilian authorities

and about US$73 million to the Singapore authorities to settle a long-running corruption probe linked to Brazil’s investigation of its offshore and marine operations.

Subsequently in August, Keppel filed

a $68.4 million arbitration claim against Seatrium

over residual obligations tied to that matter.

This was a high-profile case involving a major Singapore-listed and Temasek-linked company, highlighting the cost of global corruption exposure and the importance of cross-jurisdiction compliance.  

Investor recourse

MAS has published a consultation proposing new measures

to enhance investor recourse avenues in market misconduct cases

. These proposals are intended to address feedback that MAS received about significant barriers to investors seeking compensation in market misconduct cases in Singapore. 

If enacted as proposed, these changes could expose financial institutions to higher risk of more professional and well-funded investor claims, higher compensation amounts owed to investors, and investors being able to obtain successful judgments against financial institutions. 

Anti-money laundering breaches

MAS in July said it had imposed

a total of $27.45 million in penalties

on nine financial institutions for breaches related to anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) requirements.

The action followed MAS’ supervisory reviews into institutions with ties to persons of interest in

a major money laundering case

uncovered in August 2023.

The financial institutions penalised are Credit Suisse Singapore Branch, UOB, UBS Singapore Branch, Citibank Singapore, Bank Julius Baer, LGT Bank, UOB Kay Hian, Blue Ocean Invest and Trident Trust Company.

The reviews, carried out from early 2023 to early 2025, found that while most of the institutions had AML/CFT policies in place, the breaches stemmed from poor or inconsistent implementation.

Cambodian scam

The US Treasury Department said it had taken what it described as the largest action ever in South-east Asia, targeting 146 people

connected to the Prince Group

, which Britain has also sanctioned.

The US Justice Department alleged that people had been forcibly detained in scam compounds connected to the group and made to engage in a range of fraudulent schemes that stole billions of dollars from victims in the US and globally.

Those sanctioned include the head of the Prince Group, Chen Zhi, as well as more than a dozen individuals connected to his business operations across South-east Asia and the Pacific.

Assets – including six properties and cash estimated to be worth more than $150 million – that are linked to Prince Holding Group were

seized by the Singapore police

in a raid on Oct 30.

Prince Holding Group is a business conglomerate with projects in Cambodia that include resorts and hotels. According to its website, it has various units focusing on three core areas: real estate development, financial services and consumer services.

Ong Beng Seng’s role in Iswaran case

Hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng

admitted to abetting the obstruction of justice

by helping former transport minister S. Iswaran to cover up evidence while the public servant was being investigated for corruption.

Mr Ong, who helped bring Formula One to Singapore in 2008, gave expensive gifts, including an all-expenses paid trip with a private jet ride, to Iswaran while they were engaged in official business.

The 79-year-old had faced a maximum penalty of seven years in jail, but in August, a judge said “

judicial mercy

” would be granted in the light of his poor health.

The billionaire was

fined $30,000

after he pleaded guilty to a charge connected to a gift scandal that shocked the country in 2024.