Son of billionaire Kwek Leng Beng points to Catherine Wu, his dad's ex-personal assistant & board advisor, as primary reason for dispute

Billionaire and chairman of City Developments Limited (CDL) Kwek Leng Beng's son, Sherman Kwek, 49, has come forward to explain the underlying reason for the public dispute with his 84-year-old father.

In a statement to the media, the younger Kwek, who is the group chief executive officer of CDL, pointed to Catherine Wu, 65, his father’s long-time adviser, as the primary cause of the dispute.

He argued that the chairman’s earlier statements did not provide the "full picture".

Sherman Kwek claimed that the chairman’s assertion of an “attempted coup” by the majority directors to consolidate control of CDL’s board was incorrect and "distracts from the nub of the issue".

"The primary reason for the dispute relates to a very serious issue of corporate governance within the CDL Group arising from the conduct of one Dr Catherine Wu," the younger Kwek said.

'She wields and exercise enormous influence': Sherman Kwek

While Wu’s official role is adviser to the board of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), a wholly owned subsidiary of CDL Group, Sherman Kwek stated that she has been "interfering in matters going well beyond her scope" and "wields and exercises enormous influence."

"These matters have troubled us as directors," he added.

Although efforts were made to handle the situation sensitively, considering Wu’s long relationship with the chairman, these efforts were unsuccessful, Sherman Kwek said.

As a result, they proposed a resolution to terminate the advisory agreement Wu has with M&C’s board and another to affirm that Wu has no authority to influence or advise the directors, management, and staff of both the CDL and M&C Groups.

"We considered them to be necessary to protect the interests of the shareholders and relevant staff of the CDL Group, and to restore proper corporate governance and accountability."

These resolutions were passed by a majority of the board on Feb. 21, 2025.

The minority directors then filed an application for injunctions on Feb. 25, asking the court to urgently hear their case and reverse these resolutions.

However, their request was unsuccessful, Sherman Kwek shared.

"The majority directors are alive to their duties and will continue to uphold corporate governance and accountability within the CDL Group," he said.

Who is Catherine Wu?

Wu served as a director at M&C until January 2024 and has reportedly known Kwek Leng Beng since 1992, according to Lianhe Zaobao.

In 2018, she was named in an employment tribunal document involving Copthorne Hotels Limited filed in London, where she was described as the personal assistant to the older Kwek.

It was written that she was not an employee and was paid directly by the chairman.

The judgment also said she "assisted" the chairman and acts as his "eyes and ears" due to his age.

According to The Straits Times, Wu is known to be single and has five older brothers.

Meanwhile, Kwek is married and has two sons, Sherman and Kingston Kwek.

Court hearing

Sherman Kwek’s statement also provided more details on the court hearing held on Feb. 26.

He explained that the minority directors, including the chairman and three other directors — Philip Yeo, Colin Ong, and Chong Yoon Chou — served the other five directors with court papers just after noon on Feb. 26 for a hearing scheduled only two-and-a-half hours later.

The minority directors sought interim injunctions to prevent the majority directors, including six independent directors and Sherman Kwek, from implementing several resolutions, he said.

They also attempted to stop two independent directors from exercising their powers as directors and to reverse the resolutions passed by the majority directors, he added.

"The suggestion in the Chairman’s second press statement that the minority directors succeeded in their application and that lapses of corporate governance at CDL and its subsidiaries have been halted is most unfortunate," the younger Kwek added.

"What in fact happened was that because the majority directors did not have the opportunity to present our case, we voluntarily offered undertakings, as defendants often do in such urgent applications, to preserve the status quo until a full hearing where we would have that opportunity."

These undertakings meant that the majority directors would not take further action for the time being.

"This explains why the court made it a point to say it was not making any substantive orders on the minority directors’ application, a point which is not found in the Chairman’s second statement," he said.

He also noted that the court had directed the minority directors to refrain from doing anything related to CDL’s subsidiaries — Singapura Developments (Private) Limited (SDPL) and M&C — that could prejudice the other party’s position until the dispute is resolved.

Sherman Kwek also pointed out that his father had not mentioned the fact that the minority directors’ lawyers were questioned by the court about whether they had been validly appointed by CDL.

This led the minority directors to say that they would “leave out CDL” for the hearing, with the majority directors requesting the full hearing to be held early, which the court agreed to.

"Therefore, despite the attempt to ambush us, the minority directors did not succeed in persuading the court to hear and decide the merits, and in fact ended up on the receiving end of directions themselves, unable to use CDL's name at the hearing," Sherman Kwek added.

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