New CDL directors won’t exercise powers until court’s further notice: Kwek Leng Beng

SINGAPORE – The two new directors at City Developments Limited (CDL), who are at the centre of a disagreement between executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng and his son, group chief executive Sherman Kwek, have undertaken not to exercise any powers in their role until further notice by the Singapore court, Mr Kwek Leng Beng said.

The two directors are Ms Jennifer Duong Young and Ms Wong Su-Yen. The CDL board approved their appointments as independent non-executive directors on Feb 7, a move that was questioned by Mr Kwek Leng Beng.

“The serious lapses of corporate governance at CDL, together with its subsidiaries, have now been halted,” the older Kwek said in a statement close to midnight on Feb 26.

Ms Young, an accountant by training, has more than two decades of experience at Swiss bank Credit Suisse, while Ms Wong has held corporate governance roles, including at the Singapore Institute of Directors.

Mr Kwek Leng Beng issued the update after a closed-door High Court hearing earlier on Feb 26, in which the tycoon

took his son Sherman Kwek, board members Philip Lee Jee Cheng and Wong Ai Ai, and several other board directors to court

over what he said was an “attempted coup” to allegedly consolidate control of CDL’s board.

He also claimed that Mr Sherman Kwek’s group had bypassed the nomination committee on two occasions to change the board composition and had hastily followed up by making significant changes to board committees and CDL’s governance.

“The two new directors, irregularly and hastily appointed on Feb 7 by means of directors’ resolutions in writing, have undertaken not to exercise any powers as directors until further notice of the court,” Mr Kwek Leng Beng said in the statement, giving an update on the High Court hearing.

“Sherman Kwek, Philip Lee, Wong Ai Ai and the remaining directors acting in concert with them, have undertaken not to take any further actions regarding their attempted changes to the board committees and management of certain CDL’s subsidiaries, until further notice of (the) court,” he added.

He said the irregularly constituted nominating and remuneration committee, whose responsibilities include overseeing the appointment process and setting the remuneration policy for executive board members, has been suspended from taking further actions.

“The board committees and the management of the relevant subsidiaries are now safe from further attempts to destabilise, dismantle and reconstitute them,” Mr Kwek Leng Beng said.

“The board and the management of these subsidiaries will now be able to function normally and without unwarranted interference as they were prior to the attempted coup.”

According to court documents seen by The Straits Times on Feb 26, CDL and Mr Kwek Leng Beng, together with board directors Philip Yeo, Colin Ong and Chong Yoon Chou, filed an application to the High Court to restrain Mr Philip Lee and Mrs Wong Ai Ai from exercising their powers as directors of CDL.

The five applicants also named CEO Sherman Kwek and board directors Carolina Chan Swee Liang, Desbaillets Daniel Marie Ghislain, Wong Su-Yen and Jennifer Duong Young as respondents to the suit, together with Mr Lee and Mrs Wong.

The five applicants are represented by a legal team from LVM Law Chambers, which Senior Counsel Lok Vi Ming helms.

As at the afternoon of Feb 26, when the closed-door High Court hearing was held, the seven respondents were not represented by any lawyer.