Ex-director Kwek Leng Peck rejoins CDL after 2020 board dispute

The appointment marks his return to the board nearly six years after resigning.

City Developments Limited (CDL) has named Kwek Leng Peck as a non-independent non-executive director and vice chairman with effect from 1 June 2026.

The appointment marks his return to the board nearly six years after resigning over disagreements related to the group’s China investments and hotel business.

In a bourse filing dated 18 May, CDL said Kwek will also join the nominating and remuneration committee following his appointment.

Meanwhile, independent director Daniel Marie Ghislain Desbaillets will step down on 31 May and cease serving on the audit and risk committee and nominating and remuneration committee.

Kwek resigned from the board in October 2020, citing disagreements with the board and management over CDL’s investment in China’s Sincere Property Group, continued financial support for Sincere, and concerns relating to the management of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.

Kwek is a cousin of executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng and uncle of group chief executive officer Sherman Kwek.

He served on the CDL board from 1987 to 2020 and was also a director of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels from 1995 to 2020.

His return follows a period of boardroom conflict at the company earlier this year.

In a March 2025 filing, CDL disclosed that Kwek Leng Beng and several directors had initiated court proceedings against a group of directors, including Sherman Kwek and Daniel Desbaillets, over disputes involving board composition, board committees, and governance matters.

The dispute led the group to call for a trading halt in February 2025. Court proceedings were later discontinued on 12 March 2025 after the board agreed to “put aside their differences.”

Meanwhile, Kwek Leng Beng said Kwek Leng Peck’s “long-standing association and in-depth understanding” of the group would support the company’s ongoing strategic review exercise.

“As such, the company expects to only unveil these outcomes in the third quarter of 2026,” he added.

The people you want to reach are already in this room.

Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.

If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia