A high-stakes family feud has erupted within one of Singapore’s wealthiest dynasties, as property tycoon Kwek Leng Beng accuses his son, Sherman Kwek, of orchestrating a boardroom coup at City Developments Limited (CDL).
Mr. Kwek has taken legal action, alleging that his son is attempting to seize control of the real estate giant. In response, the 82-year-old executive chairman is seeking to remove Sherman from his position as CDL’s chief executive.
“This is necessary to address the attempted coup at the board level and restore corporate integrity,” Kwek Leng Beng stated.
The dispute has led CDL, Singapore’s largest publicly listed property developer, to suspend trading of its shares on the stock exchange.
The controversy has drawn comparisons to HBO’s hit series Succession, which follows the power struggles within a fictional media empire.
“We intend to change the chief executive officer at the appropriate time,” Mr. Kwek said, adding, “As a father, firing my son was certainly not an easy decision.”
If Sherman Kwek is ousted, his father plans to install his cousin, Kwek Eik Sheng, as interim CEO.
At the heart of the disagreement is an email sent by CDL’s corporate secretary late on January 28—just before the Lunar New Year holiday—nominating two independent directors to the board.
Public interest in the case has intensified, as family business disputes in the region often spill into the courts.
Following a court hearing on Wednesday, Kwek Leng Beng announced that the two newly appointed directors had agreed not to exercise their powers until further notice.
CDL confirmed that Sherman Kwek would continue as CEO until the matter is resolved.
Sherman Kwek, in turn, criticized his father’s legal action, saying he and most of the board were “disappointed by the extreme measures taken over a disagreement about the size and composition of the CDL board.”
Kwek Leng Beng took over CDL in 1971 alongside his father and brother when it was struggling financially. He became executive chairman after his father’s passing in 1995, transforming the company into a global property powerhouse with over 160 hotel, residential, and commercial assets worldwide—part of a multi-billion-dollar family empire