City Developments Ltd (CDL) plans to invest S$5 billion in Singapore, China and Japan by 2029 while targeting S$6 billion in asset sales as the property group seeks to rebuild investor confidence and reduce its debt burden.
The Singapore-listed developer said on Monday it would pursue outright divestments and seed suitable assets into managed vehicles as part of the S$6 billion asset-sale target.
CDL also plans to establish a dedicated fund management entity with its own investment committee and leadership team, with the aim of doubling assets under management to S$10 billion by 2029 through new real estate investment trusts, funds, partnerships and joint ventures.
The strategic review comes after a legal dispute between CDL chairman Kwek Leng Beng and his eldest son and chief executive Sherman Kwek in early 2025. The pair later reached a settlement.
CDL, Singapore’s largest listed developer by market value, has benefited from strength in the domestic residential market, with first-half profit more than tripling. However, its shares have risen about 3% this year, compared with a 23% gain in the Straits Times Index.
Sherman Kwek has also identified reducing CDL’s net debt-to-equity ratio as a key priority. The ratio, which includes the fair value of investment properties, rose to 75% in the first half of the year.
The company now aims to bring the ratio down to about 55% by 2029, while continuing to review its exposure to underperforming markets including China and the UK.
The strategic review had been delayed since the middle of the year. Sherman had previously said the board and management were not under review, with the company’s 10-member board unanimously approving the conclusions.
The Kweks control about 49% of CDL’s shares. The family, led by patriarch Kwek Leng Beng and his Malaysian cousin Quek Leng Chan, has an estimated net worth of US$25 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
