"During her tenure at M&C, Dr Wu contributed well in many of M&C's achievements. We are grateful to Dr Wu for her service over the years and wish her well in her future endeavours," says the elder Kwek.
Following Dr Wu's resignation, Sherman, who is the CEO of CDL, and his team of directors will no longer be able to make "such corporate governance allegations" about CDL and justify his board coup, Leng Beng adds.
The younger Kwek, in a Feb 27 statement, alleged that Dr Wu was the reason behind the group's dispute.
"Although her official position is advisor to the board of M&C, a wholly owned and principal subsidiary of CDL Group, she has been interfering in matters going well beyond her scope, and she wields and exercises enormous influence. These matters have troubled us as directors," Sherman said at the time.
See also: Singapore’s CDL to sell $2.75 bil office complex to cut debt
With Dr Wu's resignation, the elder Kwek said that it was "high time" that the group "restore investor confidence" and ensure that the breaches by his son and his team of directors, which includes breaching the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) listing rules and the code of corporate governance "will never happen again".
Leng Beng also reiterated the points he made from his first statement, that CDL, under Sherman's leadership as CEO, suffered an "extraordinary loss" of $1.9 billion in FY2020 thanks to the Sincere Property debacle.
In addition, he blamed his son for "poorly judged investment decisions" in the UK, which led to "substantial financial setbacks" that resulted in a 94% drop in profits in CDL's 1HFY2023 results.
See also: Frencken to invest $63 mil in new manufacturing site at Kaki Bukit
Finally, he noted that CDL's share price has also "persistently lagged" behind its peers since Sherman became CEO in 2018, adding that shares in the group fell even further from the recent breaches. On March 3, after trading of the group's shares resumed, CDL's shares opened at $4.855, 5.17% lower than its last-closed price of $5.12.
"The first step in addressing these challenges should be to strengthen the corporate governance framework in a way that aligns with shareholders' long-term interests," says Leng Beng. "Our utmost focus on CDL's core businesses is critical and essential for regaining a stable path of profitability. I am convinced that such an approach will surely restore investor confidence and enhance shareholder value over time."
In a statement issued on Feb 28, Phillip Yeo, a non-independent non-executive director at CDL, also reminded Sherman that he should be "focused on making back the $1.9 billion of shareholders' losses through Sincere Property" as well as the other losses from the group's property investments in the UK.
Shares in CDL closed 3 cents lower or 0.6% down at $4.97 on March 4.
See also:
- CDL says board changes deviated from norms (April 8)
- CDL directors put stop to legal action, executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng and son Sherman Kwek to retain posts (March 12)
- SIAS asks CDL to clarify Dr Catherine Wu's role at M&C, process of board appointments, and shareholder safeguards (March 6)
- Dr Catherine Wu resigns; CDL CEO can 'no longer' make corp governance allegations and justify board coup: Kwek Leng Beng (March 4)
- CDL loses biggest developer spot to UOL as stock slides (March 3)
- CDL shares down more than 5% upon trading resumption (March 3)
- Urgency of court application stems from disruption of CDL's corporate structure; Phillip Yeo sees saga as distraction (Feb 28)
- Generational shift at City Developments (Feb 27)
- Primary reason behind CDL's dispute is related to M&C board advisor Dr Catherine Wu, says Sherman Kwek (Feb 27)
- CDL board fight cools with undertaking from two new IDs (Feb 26)
- Father and son battle it out in court for control for CDL (Feb 26)
- Sherman Kwek to remain as group CEO of CDL; finds episode 'incredibly disappointing' (Feb 26)
- CDL calls for trading halt, cancels FY2024 results briefing (Feb 26)
- City Developments' FY2024 patmi falls 36.6% as gearing rises to 117% (Feb 26)
- CDL divests assets worth more than $600 million in 2024 (Jan 16)
