🇸🇬 Singapore: All in the Family

Was this forwarded to you? Signpost is a free weekly newsletter analysing what the media says, what it means, and why it matters. It’s free to subscribe. Alternatively, you can add me on LinkedIn.

👑 Singaporean Succession

While it can be argued that the most famous real estate family in the world is currently in the White House, this week Singaporeans were greeted with palace intrigue in their own backyard when Executive Chairman of City Developments Limited (CDL) Kwek Leng Beng attempted to fire his own son, Group CEO Sherman Kwek, because of an ‘attempted coup’ at the board of the company. If that isn’t exciting enough, strap in because we’re just getting started.

An explosive media statement was released this week where the older Kwek outlined all his reasoning for the move, essentially accusing his son of appointing sympathetic board members without the proper oversight, in order to strengthen his control over the 60-year-old company, which also happens to be Singapore’s biggest listed property developer.

In this issue, we’ll analyse the story as it was reported in Singapore’s newspaper of record, The Straits Times (ST), along with The Business Times (BT), Singapore’s largest business news publication.

THE BUSINESS TIMES: Kwek Leng Beng moves to sack son and CDL CEO Sherman Kwek; files lawsuit over ‘attempted coup’ [link]

📢 What The Business Times is saying
The Business Times covered the story by outlining what happened along with the main actors, but also attempted to provide a bit more context to the dramatic events. BT mentions that ‘underlying tensions’ at CDL have been around for a few years, including several resignations from the board in the last three years. According to BT, this is but the latest chapter in a long-running saga of family disputes at CDL.

📸 Visuals

BT uses a single image to tell the story. The article’s header image is a composite of two individual photographs of father and son. On the left of the image is the son, Group CEO Sherman Kwek, dressed in a dark suit, striped shirt, and striped tie. His arms are crossed in front of him, and he is standing, leaning on his left shoulder against a window frame. In fact, the window makes up the entire wall he is leaning against. Behind him, out of focus, is a brass lamp with a white lampshade, and by his side is what looks like the corner of a piano. He looks relaxed, with his teeth showing, if not in an outright smile. It’s obvious that he is posing at one of the various hotels owned by the company.

On the right of the image is the father, Executive Chairman Kwek Leng Beng, sitting at a table in a dark blue suit, white shirt, and spotted grey tie. He is leaning to his right, with his right arm on the table, and his left hand lying on top of his right. His head is also slightly cocked to the right as he stares at us through his glasses. On the table are a series of cylindrical and transparent vases that reach to the ceiling, each with a long stemmed flower. Behind him, out of focus, is a flight of stairs. It’s obvious that he is posing at one of the various hotels owned by the company.

2. ✍🏽 Words

The headline succinctly summarises the main beats of the story, especially the words ‘sack son’ and “attempted coup”. BT opens the article with a passionate, dramatic flair, calling the situation a ‘battle for control’ which has ‘erupted’, ‘pitting father and son against each other’. And just in case we believe this to be unprovoked, BT mentions that this situation has been ‘brewing for some years’.

It calls the media statement ‘dramatic’, quoting the older Kwek’s use of the words “attempted coup” for the second time (after using it in the headline) to describe the situation between him on one side, and his son and two other groups of directors, one of whom is the lead independent director of the board, on the other. The article continues to quote the older Kwek to explain why he did what he did (“to set things right”, “restore corporate integrity”). Here, it mentions him being 84. There are a few more updates from another statement issued by the patriarch, stating that things have more-or-less come to a standstill at the board.

BT reiterates here that the older Kwek had claimed to push for the replacement of his son as Group CEO because the younger Kwek had ‘orchestrated major board changes and bypassed the nomination committee’. This, BT reminds us, is against corporate governance principles and against the Singapore stock exchange’s rules. BT then says that the senior Kwek took these moves by his son as the crossing of a “red line”, as quoted from his media statement.

Now we hear for the first time from the younger Kwek, Sherman, whose age is given as 49, and states that the issue is “incredibly disappointing”, along with further quotes from his statement. However, BT immediately swings back to the older Kwek’s statement, sharing that the reasons for him wanting to fire his son are more than the latest boardroom tussle. The article provides all the reasoning in easy-to-understand bullet points, including:

• because of a major loss of investment in Sincere Property Group, a Chinese property group,

• further losses in the UK property market,

• and the falling of share prices, all of which have happened since the younger Kwek became Group CEO.

Here BT attempts to provide some more context. The article states that one of the senior Kwek’s cousins along with two other directors have all stepped down from the board since 2020, due to several disagreements relating to the investment in the Chinese property group and the management of it’s line of hotels. The next few paragraphs outline in detail what lead to this announcement, including the push of the younger Kwek to hurriedly nominate two independent directors to the board on the evening of Chinese New Year, a long holiday in Singapore, without following proper protocol.

Towards the end, the article mentions that should the younger Sherman Kwek be removed as Group CEO, his cousin, and current Group COO will take on interim duties, before providing a quick history lesson of CDL.

❓ What it means
Reading this, it is clear that the article portrays the younger Kwek as the main instigator. Not only is he portrayed as the one who tried to populate the board with friendly executives, he has also been running the company into the ground. The article spends more time quoting from senior Kwek’s media statements than that of junior Kwek; more than half the article is primarily senior Kwek’s statement.

Coupled with the fact that the article calls attention to the previous board resignations on the mishandling of projects that can be understood to be spearheaded by the younger Kwek, you get a very clear portrayal of who the hero and villain are in this saga.

⚠️ Why it matters
Singapore’s economy is one of two halves - the legacy versus the incumbents. On the side of legacy businesses, the ones that have been around for as long as the nation has, are the businesses in what you’d call traditional industries - agriculture, oil & gas, food, finance, and real estate. On the side of the incumbents are businesses built in the internet age.

Singapore’s startup industry is fairly well recognised and developed (Startup Genome ranked it as the 7th best startup ecosystem worldwide in 2024), with several large tech companies setting up businesses here, and several venture capitalist firms and rich family offices parking money in the city state. Singapore is, arguably, the easiest place in the world to do business.

However, Singapore’s track record of new businesses is still spotty. Most internet-based businesses are either marginally profitable, or deeply loss making, including companies like Sea, Grab, and Lazada. In essence, the older legacy companies are still the ones who are more likely to deliver reliable profits and jobs to grow the overall economy. The other common element is that none of the largest tech companies in Singapore have listed on the local stock exchange, instead preferring to go public overseas.

It’s a complex issue that requires the efforts and intelligence of people much more capable than me, but it’s never a good sign when the largest property developer on the local stock exchange has a very public family feud. And painting the younger Kwek as the instigator is perhaps an easier argument to make and follow through with for the media.

Introducing Think. Speak. Solve. - a programme to strengthen and promote ‘human’ skills for 21st century leaders.

Things move incredibly fast nowadays. Emerging technology makes skills irrelevant overnight, only to be itself irrelevant the next day. In the last five years, we've been told that the next big thing is blockchain, NFTs, VR/AR, and now GenAI.

But what skills are genuinely evergreen and don't suffer from shiny-object-syndrome? Thinking critically, communicating effectively, and solving challenges creatively are core skills that position you as a leader.

Beginning with the introductory 3-hour workshop called 'Think. Speak. Solve. The Basics.', you will learn practical strategies and expert insights to transform the way you think, communicate, and solve problems.

If you are an experienced or emerging leader, independent thinker, or someone who works in a high-performing team, this programme is designed for you.

If you’re based in Singapore, you can find out more and sign up here for the workshops in March. It’s free.

THE STRAITS TIMES: CDL’s Kwek Leng Beng seeks to fire son Sherman as CEO over ‘attempted coup’ [link]

📢 What The Straits Times is saying
The 180-year-old newspaper says much of the same as what BT does, except it’s focus is slightly different. A lot of the article is spent rehashing the media statements between the two men, but there is also more time spent on the two new directors that the younger Kwek nominated into the board.

1. 📸 Visuals

ST uses seven (count ‘em, seven) visuals for this story. The lead image is, like BT, a composite of two individual photos of the father and son. This time, the image on the left is of the older Kwek, sitting at the side of a round table. He is wearing a dark blue suit, a lighter shirt and a purple patterned tie. Behind him is the painting of a branch with some leaves and flowers. His right hand is on is thigh, while his left hand disappears under the table. He also sports a pin of a stylised star on his left lapel.

On the right side of the image is the younger Kwek, Sherman, who is once again standing with this arms crossed in front of him. This time he does not lean, and the green leaves in the background tell us that he is likely outside. He wears a dark blue suit, a striped shirt, a round pin on his left lapel, but no tie. He looks relaxed.

Further down is a ST YouTube video that further explains the story, with the thumbnail image showing both father and son in a photograph together, along with the CDL logo on the left.

Continuing downwards, we see two profile photos of the two new directors whose appointment was allegedly hurried into the board without proper process. Both women are dressed in blazers, with one in a light yellow blazer, pearls, and a black t-shirt underneath, and the other with a red buttoned-up blazer. Both have relatively short hair and are smiling into the camera, as their bodies are turned slightly to the right.

We then get an image of the Kwek family, including younger son Kingston and wife Cecilia, at an event from 2008. Only the patriarch is wearing a tuxedo and has a drink in his hand, with the two sons wearing suits and ties. The mother is dressed in a gown with a handbag in her hands. Following this is another ST video of a previous interview with the older Kwek, with the thumbnail image showing a rather awkward attempt at a selfie between the interviewer and Kwek Leng Beng. Towards the end, we have an image of the senior Kwek, surrounded by his son Sherman and nephew, the Group COO, at the company’s 2023 earnings briefing, before the article ends with a photo of an empty ballroom that was the venue of the 2024 earnings briefing before it was cancelled because of the developing story.

2. ✍🏽 Words

Much of the text is relatively similar to what was written in BT, so I will not spend too much time here. Even the headline is relatively similar (this could also be because both ST and BT are part of the same holding company, and therefore have similar editorial guidelines). However, there are a few details in this article that are worth calling out.

About halfway down the article, the company is described as a ‘$4.7 billion Singapore-listed developer’. This is the first time we get a valuation of the company. We also get more detail of the two new board directors whose appointments signalled the start of this entire saga, including their names, career summaries, and most interestingly, their profile photos.

The article also includes commentary from external experts, including the president of Securities Investors Association, a professor from the local business school, and a spokesperson from the local exchange, SGX Group.

❓ What it means
Once again, the younger Kwek does not come out of this story looking very good. If anything, ST spends even more time than BT on the media statements issued by both parties, with a lot more of that time going to senior Kwek. Even the experts mentioned at the end of the article either say nothing in particular (as is the case with the president of Securities Investors Association), or come down hard on the side of senior Kwek (as does Professor Loh who calls corporate governance “sacrosanct” and SGX who “expects issuers to have in place proper process” for such board developments).

There is also a remarkable amount of detail provided for the two independent directors who were supposedly brought to the board without proper vetting. While other articles have mentioned them by name, ST is the only one I am aware of who have provided detailed backgrounds and photos. Curiously enough, both are women. And while nobody is accusing them of anything, it is questionable whether their gender has played a part in how they have either been reported on, or not reported on.

⚠️ Why it matters
ST has clearly come down on the side of the older Kwek. The article makes efforts to portray Kwek Leng Beng more sympathetically. The article includes a casual interview on YouTube with the patriarch. There are photos of him with his family. There’s photos of an empty ballroom immediately after a photo of him with his son and nephew at a previous event, as if to say that the senior Kwek has been a steadying hand over the business, and would continue to be so if it were not for his 49-year-old eldest son.

WHAT’S GOING ON? 

🫦 And just when you thought it couldn’t get any more salacious…

If this story isn’t enough of a gossipy family drama, here’s an update: since this story first broke, Sherman Kwek has alleged that the main cause for all this upheaval is not his father, but instead a Dr. Catherine Wu, a long standing advisor to the company and assistant to the senior Kwek. Sherman Kwek argues that the board was moving to limit her involvement in the running of the company, which he claims is beyond her scope and where she allegedly wields enormous influence.

The media have been writing up about her in significant detail, including showing a specific photograph of the 64-year-old lady standing remarkably close to the 84-year-old senior Kwek. We also learn that she is single, and was previously paid directly by senior Kwek, rather than by the company.

Let’s call a spade a spade - the son is accusing his father of having a mistress who has caused a rift between father and son. But is she really to blame? Is it Senior Kwek? Is it Sherman Kwek? Is it the implementation of corporate governance protocols?

The truth, as always, is somewhere in between.
Read widely. Question thoroughly. Decide accordingly.

WEEKLY POLL

LAST WEEK’S POLL

Was this forwarded to you? Signpost is a free weekly newsletter analysing what the media says, what it means, and why it matters. It’s free to subscribe. Alternatively, you can add me on LinkedIn.