CDL chairman Kwek Leng Beng drops lawsuit against his son, CDL CEO Sherman Kwek

City Developments Limited (CDL) executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng has dropped the lawsuit against his son and group chief executive officer (CEO) Sherman Kwek.

The older Kwek had previously accused his son of an  “attempted coup” to consolidate control of CDL’s board.

In a statement on Mar. 12, he said: "I have decided that the legal action that was launched in regard to the board resolutions taken since Feb. 7, 2025 will be discontinued," reported CNA and The Straits Times.

He said that all CDL board members have agreed to "put aside their differences" for the "greater good of CDL and its stakeholders".

Both Kweks to remain in their roles

Kwek père said that he will continue in his role as executive chairman while Sherman will continue as CEO.

All the current directors, including Jennifer Duong Young and Su Yen Wong, will also remain on the CDL board.

Duong and Wong's nominations to the board were previously under scrutiny, as Kwek Leng Beng accused the board of bypassing nomination procedures to rush their appointments.

Now, the board has agreed to "put aside their differences" for the "greater good of CDL and its stakeholders," Kwek said.

Focus on strengthening business

The elder Kwek said that they will continue to focus on strengthening CDL’s business in accordance with good corporate governance.

This includes "completing the raft of landmark developments underway across Singapore and globally, furthering the expansion of various brands under (group subsidiary) Millennium & Copthorne, continuing our capital recycling initiative and above all, maximising shareholder value," he said.

In a regulatory filing on Mar. 12, CDL announced that the court proceedings have been resolved and will be discontinued.

"The board will continue to focus on strengthening the company’s business and will continue to act in accordance with good corporate governance and strive to maximise shareholder value."

What happened

The older Kwek claimed that his son's group attempted to circumvent corporate governance laws and principles by bypassing the nomination committee (NC) twice to change the board composition without proper review.

He questioned the urgency of appointing two new directors without proper vetting and added that the NC chairman Chong Yoon Chou was "completely unaware of the nominations".

Sherman Kwek disputed this father's claims, saying their actions were not to "oust" his father.

He then pointed to Catherine Wu, 65, his father’s long-time adviser, allegedly as the "primary cause" of the dispute.

Wu subsequently resigned from her position as an independent adviser to the board of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), a wholly owned subsidiary of CDL.

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Top photos from Hong Leong Group and CDL website