CDL bypass of nominating committee may seem ‘unusual’ but current rules open to interpretation: observers

THE appointment process for two of City Developments Ltd’s (CDL) directors as well as the dismantling of the company’s nominating committee (NC) are “unusual” and against the spirit of corporate governance rules, said industry observers. 

They were referring to the board tussle between CDL’s executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng and his son and group chief executive, Sherman Kwek.

The crux of the disagreement lies in the nomination of two new directors at CDL – Jennifer Duong Young and Wong Su-Yen – as independent non-executive directors on Feb 7.

Executive chairman Kwek claims that his son, Sherman, had bypassed the NC – which recommends all director appointments to the board – in the approval of their nominations. Instead, he claims they were “hastily appointed” through a written resolution.

The elder Kwek also claims that the younger Kwek had replaced the NC with a combined nominating and remuneration committee.