Kwek Leng Beng, executive chairman of City Developments Limited (CDL), has received a reduced remuneration package of S$5.97 million (US$4.55 million) for 2024, a 13.6% decrease from the previous year. This reduction follows a highly publicized boardroom dispute with his son, Sherman Kwek, who serves as CDL’s CEO, which has contributed to a decline in the company’s stock price.
According to CDL’s annual report released on April 8, Kwek Leng Beng’s pay cut comes amidst a challenging year for the property developer, whose net profit plummeted by 36.6% to S$201.3 million in 2024. The company’s revenues also dropped by 33.8%, totaling S$3.3 billion.
Sherman Kwek also saw his compensation cut by 15.4%, down to S$2.97 million for 2024. Additionally, Sherman opted to forgo a long-term incentive grant worth S$1.35 million, compared to his S$3.52 million earnings for the previous financial year. 
The pay cuts follow a series of events that have shaken the company’s performance. Earlier in the year, a dispute between Kwek Leng Beng and his son became public. The clash began when Leng Beng filed a lawsuit against Sherman in late February, accusing him of bypassing CDL’s nomination committee to alter the board composition and governance structure. Sherman, in turn, blamed his father’s longtime adviser, Catherine Wu, for the issues, while Leng Beng criticized his son’s actions, which he believed had negatively affected CDL’s stock.
Despite the tensions, Leng Beng withdrew the lawsuit in March, following a board decision to resolve their differences for the sake of CDL and its stakeholders. However, the damage to the company’s reputation and share price has been significant. CDL’s stock has fallen by 12% this year, hitting a 16-year low of S$4.48 on April 8.
As a result, CDL has lost its title as Singapore’s most valuable publicly traded property firm. Despite these setbacks, Kwek Leng Beng and his family remain one of the wealthiest in Singapore, with a combined net worth of US$11.5 billion, making him the city-state’s fourth richest billionaire according to Forbes’ 2024 list.
