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[SINGAPORE] City Developments Ltd’s (CDL) global hotel business, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), came into the spotlight when a tussle for control over the group emerged in February.

Executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng accused his son and group chief executive Sherman Kwek of an attempted coup, filing court actions to “set things right”. Central to the dispute were allegations made by Sherman Kwek that Dr Catherine Wu, long-time adviser to his father, wielded power and influence beyond her scope and role at M&C.     

Dr Wu has since resigned from her position of “unpaid adviser” to the board of M&C, a post she held since August 2024, according to a statement from Kwek Leng Beng. Prior to that, she was a director on the board from June 2022 to January 2024.

While the senior Kwek has now dropped his legal action against his son, questions remain on Dr Wu’s role at M&C. 

The group’s hotel business expanded fast after 1993, when it acquired its first properties outside Asia, in London and New Zealand. By 1996, it had formed M&C after picking up a trophy asset the year before – Donald Trump’s Plaza Hotel in New York – and listed the hospitality arm on the London Stock Exchange.