Kwek Leng Beng
Kwek Leng Beng | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth year and age Singapore |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, Business executive |
| Years active | Early 1960s–present |
| Known for | Executive chairman of Hong Leong Group |
Kwek Leng Beng (; born 1941) is a Singaporean billionaire entrepreneur and the executive chairman of the Hong Leong Group based in Singapore. As of September 2019, Forbes valued his net assets at approximately US$3.4 billion.
Early life
The late Kwek Hong Png, Kwek’s father, migrated from Tongan, Fujian province, China to Singapore as a destitute adolescent and established the Hong Leong Group. Although Kwek Leng Beng pursued legal studies in London, he entered the family enterprise during the early 1960s.
Career
Since assuming the role of chairman in 1990, Kwek has transformed Hong Leong Group into a diversified conglomerate comprising more than 300 companies, including a dozen publicly traded firms.
He serves as chairman of City Developments Limited (CDL), an internationally recognized property and hospitality conglomerate headquartered in Singapore. CDL maintains operations in 20 countries spanning Asia, Europe, North America, and Australasia, overseeing over 250 subsidiaries and affiliates, with eight entities listed on stock exchanges in Singapore, London, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, New Zealand, and Manila. With a market value of US$5.8 billion, CDL is positioned just outside the top ten publicly listed companies in Singapore and stands as the second-largest property developer in Southeast Asia.
Additionally, Kwek leads Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) Hotels, a hotel group listed on the London Stock Exchange and majority-owned (53%) by CDL. M&C ranks 40th worldwide among global hotel groups, managing over 120 hotels and nearly 36,500 rooms across 19 nations.
The Hong Leong Group also controls Hong Leong Finance, the largest finance company in Singapore with 28 branch locations. Kwek holds a position on the board of trustees at Singapore Management University and has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Oxford Brookes University. He oversees Hong Leong’s operations in Singapore while his cousin Quek Leng Chan manages activities in Malaysia.
In February 2025, Kwek initiated legal proceedings accusing his son Sherman Kwek and several board members of orchestrating an “attempted coup” aimed at consolidating control over CDL’s board. He charged them with circumventing the nomination committee to modify board membership and governance frameworks in violation of corporate governance standards and Singapore Exchange Listing Rules.
Private life
Kwek is married to Cecilia Kok. Their elder son, Sherman Kwek, has held the position of CEO at CDL since January 2018. His younger son, Kingston, shifted from private equity and debt investing to focus on venture capital activities.