CDL to divest S$6 billion over 3 years, CEO pledges 'unwavering focus' on execution of new strategy

SINGAPORE: City Developments Limited's (CDL) refreshed strategy for the next three years will see the group targeting to sell S$6 billion (US$4.7 billion) worth of assets to unlock value, with chief executive Sherman Kwek promising "unwavering focus" on strong execution of the roadmap.

With Mr Kwek noting that CDL has S$36 billion of assets on its balance sheet, the planned divestment will represent one-sixth of the company's assets.

Out of the planned divestments, the company targets 30 per cent of the divestments to come from hotels and 45 per cent from commercial properties. The remaining 25 per cent of divestments is targeted to come from its legacy residential, living and other parts of its portfolio.

CDL announced the strategic review to maximise shareholder returns earlier this year, indicating its intention to unlock value from mature and non-core assets. This came around a year after a public feud between Mr Sherman Kwek and his father, CDL executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng.

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At that time, the elder Mr Kwek accused his son of an attempted "coup" and filed a lawsuit over alleged governance lapses, before dropping the case two weeks later.

During an analysts' briefing on the strategic review, the younger Mr Kwek responded to a question about how shareholders can be confident that individual leadership differences will not get in the way of institution-level priorities.

"What happened last year was unfortunate, but it's something that we hope not to ever see happen again," he said.

CDL's board is united on the strategic review and has approved everything that the company announced on Monday, said Mr Kwek.

"This is something that the board and management are aligned on, so I think we want to go forth and really focus on execution," he said, adding that he is confident that they can deliver on the plans.