Catherine Wu resigns as adviser to CDL subsidiary

Her departure comes amidst an ongoing corporate governance dispute within CDL.

Dr. Catherine Wu has resigned as an unpaid independent advisor to Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Limited (MCHL), effective immediately.

MCHL’s Board of Directors received her irrevocable resignation today, according to a statement from Kwek Leng Beng, executive chairman of City Developments Limited (CDL).

Wu had served in the advisory role since August 2024, after previously being a board director from June 2022 to January 2024.

"We are grateful to Dr Wu for her service over the years and wish her well in her future endeavour," Kwek said.

Wu’s departure comes amidst an ongoing corporate governance dispute within CDL. The company’s CEO had previously cited "a very serious issue of corporate governance within the CDL group arising from the conduct of one Dr. Catherine Wu" as the primary reason for boardroom tensions.

However, Kwek dismissed these claims as "unproven insinuations" used to justify what he called a "Board coup" and breaches of corporate governance. He said that with Wu’s resignation, the CEO and his team "no longer have any basis to make such allegations."

Kwek further pointed to CDL’s financial struggles under the CEO’s leadership, citing a $1.9b loss from the Sincere Property deal in FY2020, a 94% profit decline in H1 2023 due to UK property investments, and CDL’s persistently weak share price since 2018.

"The first step in addressing these challenges should be to strengthen the corporate governance
framework in a way that aligns with shareholders' long-term interests," the chairman said.

"Our utmost focus on CDL’s core businesses is critical and essential for regaining a stable path of profitability."