City Developments Limited

City Developments Limited, also commonly referred to by its abbreviation, CDL, or as CityDev,[5] is a Singaporean multinational real estate operating organisation.[6] CDL has developed many types of properties from shopping malls to integrated developments.[6]

City Developments Limited
Public
Traded asSGX: C09
OTC Pink: CDEVY
Industry
Founded7 September 1963 (1963-09-07)[1]
Headquarters
Singapore
Key people
Revenue S$3.43 billion[4] (2019)
S$754 million[4] (2019)
S$565 million[4] (2019)
ParentHong Leong Financial Group
Websitewww.cdl.com.sg

History

City Developments Limited was founded on 7 September 1963 as a property company, initially starting with eight employees in Amber Mansions on Orchard Road. The company subsequently listed on the Malayan Stock Exchange (present-day Singapore Exchange) in November the same year.[1]

When the company first started, it built its first project in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, a 200-unit bungalow development called Fresh Breezes, which was completed in 1965.[1][7] With Fresh Breezes, CDL introduced the concept of "show house" as a sales technique in Asia.[8] It allows prospective buyers to preview how a property would look like before committing themselves to buy the house.[8] It proceeded to build its second project in Johor Bahru called Marine Vista, a project that has expansive views of the Straits of Johor. CDL built its first Singapore project called City Towers in Bukit Timah, which was completed in 1966. This was said to be Singapore's first high-rise project.[1] It also built Singapore's first condo project the same year called Clementi Park.[7]

CDL was unprofitable for its first seven years' of operations, with the race riots in 1969 and withdrawal of British troops from Singapore affecting the property markets in Malaysia and Singapore.[9] Thus, CDL was forced to sell its properties in Johor and consolidated itself into Singapore market.[9] Hong Leong Group began to invest in CDL in 1969, buying a substantial stake which allowed them to place three directors on CDL's board.[10] In 1972, Kwek Leng Beng, then an executive in Hong Leong Group, led an acquisition of a controlling stake in CDL,[11] transforming CDL into the core publicly traded entity of Hong Leong Group.[12] Kwek later became the managing director of CDL in 1974, and the executive chairman in 1995 after the death of his father, Kwek Hong Png.[12] Riding on the strong economic growth which transformed Singapore into an industrialised nation,[13] CDL grew rapidly with a market capitalisation of S$6 million in 1995.[14] Its flagship building, the Republic Plaza, was officially opened on 18 January 1998 by then Prime Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong.[15]

With Hong Leong Group's investments into CDL, CDL's industrial properties was offloaded into Hong Leong Holdings, a subsidiary of Hong Leong Group.[14][16] It then diversified into hospitality industry through the establishment of CDL Hotels International (CDLHI) in 1989.[11] CDLHL acquired hotel properties across Asia, Europe, and United States.[17] Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C) was eventually floated London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 1996 and more hotel properties and brands were acquired and consolidated under M&C.[18] M&C also would come to manage hotels owned by other firms across the world.[19] As part of a restructuring exercise in 1999, CDLHI renamed to City e-Solutions Limited in 2000 with a focus on CDL's efforts to develop hospitality related Internet businesses and other e-commerce business initiatives in various industries.[20]

CDL weathered through a recession that Singapore slid into in 2008 as an effect of the Great Recession.[12][21] Its financial performance was affected by its exposure to the Sterling Pound, as the Singapore dollar strengthened against it, via its United Kingdom-centric subsidiary, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.[22] However, it managed to remain one of the largest real estate development firms in Singapore post recession.[23]

In June 2019, M&C's board agreed to recommend a takeover offer, valuing the business at £2.23 billion, from CDL for the shares it does not already own.[24] The transaction became unconditional in September 2019.[25] M&C was delisted from LSE on 11 October 2019, and effectively turning M&C into a full subsidiary of CDL.[26]

Sustainability and social efforts

CDL formalised its sustainability efforts in 1995 with the adoption of its ethos Conversing as we Construct.[27] In 2003, CDL had set firm commitments to be an environmentally responsible company with the establishment of its corporate Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) policy.[28] It then acquired ISO 14001 certification (Environmental Management System) from the local governing authority, Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in the same year.[28][29] It subsequently became the first Singapore company to acquire certifications in ISO 50001 Energy Management System (in 2014), and ISO 14064-1 Assurance for GHG emissions disclosures (in 2016).[28]

In 1998, CDL became the first developer to install energy saving lifts, which allowed up to 50% savings of energy usage,[30] in a residential property project, the Florida Executive Condominium.[31] It also installed twin-chute pneumatic refuse collection system in selected condominiums, where refuse and recyclables, disposed separately at residents' doorsteps, being transported to a central collection area.[30][32]

In 2009, CDL developed the 11 Tampines Concourse, Asia's first CarbonNeutral development,[33][31] and City Square Mall, Singapore's first "eco-mall" with a number of eco-friendly facilities.[34][35][31] In 2012, CDL sought to retrofit Republic Plaza, and upgraded its BCA Green Mark category from Gold to Platinum in the process.[36] Its retrofits included an upgraded chiller plant, energy efficient lights, and motion sensors to reduce energy wastage.[37] In 2017, CDL issued a green bond to repay a loan for the retrofitting efforts, the first such bond in Singapore.[38]

In 2008, CDL adopted Global Reporting Initiative's reporting framework for its sustainability report, becoming the first in Singapore to do so, which eventually was given an A+ rating in 2012's edition.[39] In the same year, CDL to the lead, and started to disclose publicly its carbon emissions As early as 2008, CDL took the lead as the first Singapore company to publicly disclose its carbon emissions with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP),[28] scoring itself A grades in 2019.[40] In 2019, according to Corporate Knights, CDL had the second highest score in terms of sustainability in Asia Pacific. In 2020, the company was ranked third.[41] Reasons for this included increase in energy usage.[41]

In addition, CDL was one of the first companies in Singapore to be recognised for gender equality efforts along with DBS Bank in the first Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) published in 2018.[42]

Group structure

In the financial year of 2019, CDL reported having 248 subsidiaries, 53 associated companies, 12 trusts and 6 limited partnerships.[4]

Notable subsidiaries

CBM

Established in 1971, CBM Pte Ltd provided in-house engineering, cleaning and security services for CDL's properties. In 2007, capitalising on the capabilities in relation to facilities management gained over the years, CBM began taking on contracts from external clients across different sectors, such as Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Home Affairs.[43] CBM also had established presence in Qatar, Thailand, and Taiwan.[44] In 2011, CBM extended itself into developing carpark equipment for commercial and government owned carparks in Singapore, then carpark management services in Taiwan in 2014.[44]

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels

CDL had diversified its property investments after being controlled by Hong Leong Group, beginning with the establishment of CDL Hotels International (CDLHI) in 1989.[11] Through CDLHI, CDL purchased hotels first within the Asian region, then further acquisitions in United States and Europe.[45][17] With its acquired hotels being renamed to include the Millennium brand,[46] CDLHI established the Millennium Hotels And Resorts global brand in 1995. On 8 October 1995, Aer Lingus sold the Copthorne Hotels to CDL for GB£219,000,000 (equivalent to about £424,094,352 in 2019).[47][48] Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C) was eventually floated London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 1996 and more hotel properties and brands were acquired and consolidated under M&C.[18] Concurrently, CDLHI became City e-Solutions Limited to focus on hospitality related Internet businesses.[20] M&C also would come to manage hotels owned by other firms across the world.[19] In 2019, CDL took M&C private, turning M&C a wholly owned subsidiary.[26]

Notable partnerships

In 2018, CDL and CapitaLand teamed up as a consortium for the Sengkang Central tender, which they eventually won with a top bid of S$777.8 million.[49] Details of the development were released the following year with completion by 2022, being a 3.7-hectare mixed-use development next to Buangkok MRT station with a three-storey mall, a hawker centre and childcare centre, a community club which will be Singapore's largest and a 680-unit condominium.[50] The condo and mall have since been named the Sengkang Grand Residences and Sengkang Grand Mall.[51]

In 2019, CDL became involved in a consortium with CapitaLand and Ascott Residence Trust to redevelop the strata titles[52] that Liang Court shopping mall and its adjacent buildings, a hotel and a serviced apartment, are on into an integrated development of a shopping mall, hotel, serviced apartments, and private residential towers.[53][54] CDL and CapitaLand came to own Liang Court after a S$400 million purchase in the same year.[55]

Notable projects

CDL's portfolio spans many real estate categories including residences, offices, industrial, retail; integrated developments, and hotels.

Integrated developments

CDL's integrated developments include King's Centre, Sunshine Plaza, Quayside Isle @ Sentosa Cove and South Beach Tower. Current projects in progress include the redevelopment of Liang Court, which will be completed in stages from 2024, as well as an integrated complex in Buangkok by 2022.[56][50]

Shopping malls

CDL boasts a wide array of malls, including Katong Shopping Centre, Palais Renaissance, Tanglin Shopping Centre, Delfi Orchard and City Square Mall. It also used to manage Lot One and Chinatown Point before being sold to CapitaLand and Perennial (Singapore) Retail Management respectively.

Hotels

Majority of CDL's hotels are operated under the Millennium & Copthorne Hotels brand, which spans across many countries around the world. Other hotels owned by CDL include The St. Regis Singapore, W Singapore Sentosa Cove, JW Marriott hotel in South Beach and Millennium Hilton Bangkok in Thailand.[57]

Offices

CDL's office portfolio include City House, The Arcade, Fuji Xerox Towers, Fortune Centre, and Republic Plaza.

Homes

CDL's homes portfolio include The Sail @ Marina Bay, One Shenton Way and Sentosa Cove.

References
  1. "City Developments Limited". HistorySG.
  2. "CDL -- City Developments Limited – Corporate Website – Board of Directors". City Developments Limited.
  3. "CDL -- City Developments Limited – Corporate Website – Management Team". City Developments Limited.
  4. "CDL Annual Report 2019". Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  5. "City Dev, CapitaLand lead consortium to redevelop Liang Court site at Clarke Quay". The Edge Markets. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  6. Jacky, C. S. (20 June 2017). "7 Things You Need To Know About City Developments Limited". Value Invest Asia. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  7. "CDL -- City Developments Limited – Corporate Website – Overview". www.cdl.com.sg. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  8. "Window shopping for homes". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  9. "City Dcv still in the red after 7 years". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  10. "Concentration on new counters". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  11. Woo, Jacqueline (11 August 2015). "CDL: From eight-man outfit to major player". The Straits Times. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  12. "CEO in the news: An Australian brings change to a Singaporean family business empire". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  13. Menon, Ravi (7 August 2015). "Ravi Menon: An economic history of Singapore – 1965-2065". Bank for International Settlements.
  14. Rimmer, Peter James; Dick, Howard W. (2009). The City in Southeast Asia: Patterns, Processes and Policy. NUS Press. pp. 209–211. ISBN 978-9971-69-426-5.
  15. "Official Opening of Republic Plaza". NAS. 18 January 1998. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  16. "Property | Hong Leong Group". www.hongleong.com.sg. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  17. "Discover our history | Millennium Hotels and Resorts". www.millenniumhotels.com. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  18. "CDL Hotels Achieves Sterling Results | City Developments Limited". ir.cdl.com.sg. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  19. "Hong Leong's hotel arm clinches management contracts; sees these as new revenue stream | City Developments Limited". ir.cdl.com.sg. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  20. "New Name For CDL Hotels | City Developments Limited". ir.cdl.com.sg. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  21. Balakrishnan, Angela (10 October 2008). "Singapore slides into recession". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  22. "CDL 2008 Annual Report". www.cdl.com.sg. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  23. "Top three real estate developer stocks averaged total return of 30.1% YTD". Singapore Business Review. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  24. "Millennium & Copthorne Hotels shares soar as takeover bid agreed". The Independent. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  25. "CDL takeover offer for Millennium & Copthorne Hotels turns unconditional". Business Times. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  26. Jye, Ng Ren (17 October 2019). "Hot stock: CDL jumps 3.5% in morning trade following Citi reiteration on 'buy'". The Business Times. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  27. "City Development Limited case study: Conserve as it constructs" (PDF). Bloomberg. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  28. Eco-Business. "CDL is highest scoring Singapore real estate company in 2017 Global CDP Results and Climate Change Scores". Eco-Business. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  29. Visser, Wayne; Tolhurst, Nick (8 September 2017). The World Guide to CSR: A Country-by-Country Analysis of Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility. Routledge. p. 479. ISBN 978-1-351-27890-4.
  30. "CDL – The First Developer To Win Green Leaf Award 2000 | City Developments Limited". ir.cdl.com.sg. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  31. Compact, United Nations Global (31 December 2015). Global Compact International Yearbook 2015. United Nations. p. 113. ISBN 978-92-1-057771-7.
  32. Oakland, John S.; Marosszeky, Marton (11 August 2006). Total Quality in the Construction Supply Chain. Routledge. p. 392. ISBN 978-1-136-35433-5.
  33. mchin (30 May 2019). "Envisioning cityscapes of the future". The Straits Times. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  34. "City Square Mall is Singapore's first eco-mall" (PDF). City Developments Limited. 26 November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  35. Yu, Eileen. "Singapore mall gives special eco treatment". ZDNet. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  36. "BCA'S 100th Green Mark Platinum Building Project". www.nccs.gov.sg. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  37. Eco-Business. "CDL becomes first Singapore company to issue green bond". Eco-Business. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  38. "City Developments markets Singapore's first Green bond". Reuters. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  39. "Interview with Ms Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer, CDL". Green in Future. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  40. "CDL recognised again for leading efforts to tackle climate change". The Business Times. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  41. Eco-Business. "Japanese plastics firm shines for Asia in ranking of world's greenest corporate giants". Eco-Business. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  42. "DBS, CDL among firms recognised for gender-equality efforts on Bloomberg index". CNA. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  43. Kan, Francis (23 October 2018). "Leveraging a culture of excellence". The Business Times. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  44. Heng, Janice (17 July 2018). "Fresh take on facilities management". The Business Times. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  45. "History of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  46. Deutsch, Claudia H. (20 August 1995). "Commercial Property/CDL Hotels International; Buyer of Major Hotels Remains a Bit of an Unknown". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  47. Dunne, Jim. "Aer Lingus makes a profit in good year for airlines". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  48. "Singapore group buys Glasgow's Copthorne Aer Lingus sellshotel for #224m". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  49. "CapitaLand-CDL tie-up lands Sengkang Central site with top bid of $777.8 million". The Straits Times. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  50. Lai, Linette (7 July 2019). "Buangkok residents get a first look at plans for new complex with community club, mall and private homes". The Straits Times. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  51. "Sengkang Grand Residences sees 216 units sold on launch weekend". The Straits Times. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  52. "Ascott Divests Liang Court Shopping Centre For S$175 Million". www.the-ascott.com. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  53. "Ascott Residence Trust joins CDL-CapitaLand Consortium to redevelop Liang Court site | CapitaLand". www.capitaland.com. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  54. hermesauto (21 November 2019). "Liang Court site in Clarke Quay to be turned into mixed-use development with 700 apartments". The Straits Times. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  55. "CapitaLand, CDL complete S$400m Liang Court mall purchase". The Business Times. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  56. "Ascott Residence Trust joins CDL-CapitaLand Consortium to redevelop Liang Court site". CapitaLand. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  57. "Other Hotel Assets". CDL. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.