An alleged boardroom coup attempt, a lawsuit between a family patriarch and his son, and accusations of corporate governance lapses — even by the standards of Asian succession drama, the family feud raging at Singapore’s Kwek dynasty stands out.
City Developments Ltd. (CDL), the financial hub’s biggest listed developer, plunged into crisis Wednesday when its billionaire Chairman Kwek Leng Beng, 84, accused his son, the firm’s chief executive officer, of orchestrating a boardroom coup. He and CDL filed a lawsuit against the younger Kwek.
At stake is control of a major slice of an $18 billion family empire spanning property development to hospitality and finance. It’s also raised eyebrows in a region all too familiar with succession battles that often erupt into public view and occasionally wind up in court. Former casino baron Stanley Ho, property tycoon Lo Ying Shek, and the removal of New World Development’s scion CEO in Hong Kong are just a few examples.
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