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This article appeared in the March 12, 2026 issue of the monthly print edition. Subscribe now.
City Developments Ltd (CDL) delivered record residential sales in FY2025 and stepped up capital recycling efforts, but the more consequential move may be a strategic reset now underway.
Last September, the property giant engaged a global advisory firm to conduct a comprehensive review of its strategy and operations.
It followed what group CEO Sherman Kwek described as an “investor perception audit” to identify gaps between CDL’s internal strategy and how it is perceived by the market.
“We realised that we could do better in providing clearer signposts — stronger guidance on what the CDL of three to five years from now will look like,” Kwek said at the group’s Feb 26 results briefing.
Record residential performance
In FY2025, CDL achieved S$4.35 billion (RM13.45 billion) in residential sales — the highest in its history — with 1,657 units sold, including executive condos (ECs). Based on URA figures, the group captured about 13% market share.
The performance coincided with a broader rebound in Singapore’s new home market, where developers sold 10,815 units last year, with average price growth of 3.3% in the private residential market.
CDL launched two projects in 2025: the 777unit The Orie in Toa Payoh, developed jointly with Frasers Property and Sekisui House, now 95% sold; and the 706-unit Zyon Grand, now 87% sold.
The momentum has continued into 2026.
Newport Residences, a 246-unit freehold project in the Core Central Region, is 66% sold following its January launch, with units averaging about S$3,200 psf.
Launch pipeline
The next launch is a 570-unit project at Lakeside Drive, expected in 3Q2026. CDL secured the site in April last year with a winning bid of S$608 million (S$1,132 psf per plot ratio, or psf ppr).
In August, the developer clinched two EC sites for a combined S$613.8 million: Senja Close in Bukit Panjang for S$252.9 million (S$771 psf ppr) and Woodlands Drive 17 for $360.9 million (S$782 psf ppr). Both EC projects are slated for launch in 1Q2027.
Earlier this February, CDL and Woh Hup, in a 90:10 joint venture, won the Government Land Sale (GLS) site at Tanjong Rhu with a bid of S$709.3 million (S$1,455 psf ppr).
These acquisitions in 2025 and early 2026 bring CDL’s confirmed launch pipeline to 1,820 units.
“Land tenders are always competitive, especially for attractive plots,” says Kwek. “We can’t expect to win good sites with low bids.
It will always be competitive, so we have to stay disciplined and put our best foot forward.” While CDL will continue to participate in land tenders this year, management has emphasised prudence.
“I don’t want us to get to the point where we are overly burdened by a huge pipeline in Singapore,” says Kwek. “Should something change — be it locally, that is, property measures; or, if the global macroeconomic conditions change suddenly — that could alter market dynamics and leave us so-called struggling with a larger burden than we like.”
Capital recycling takes centre stage
CDL executed S$2 billion in divestments last year, including its largest to date — the sale of the 50.1% stake in South Beach mixed-use development’s office, retail and hotel components, for S$1.38 billion to joint venture partner Malaysia’s IOI Properties Group.
It also divested Piccadilly Galleria for S$65.46 million, and sold the F&B, retail and lifestyle cluster at Quayside Isle in Sentosa Cove for S$97.3 million.
At the same time, CDL redeployed capital into three GLS sites in Singapore. It also acquired the 706-room, freehold Holiday Inn London — Kensington High Street last December for S$480.2 million.
“Capital recycling is very much part of our business,” says Kwek. “We don’t just develop properties or manage assets — we are also investors. If we buy something and sell it two years later at a strong premium, that should be recognised as part of what we do.”
Gearing rose to 71% from 69% a year earlier, driven by acquisitions. Management reiterated its mid-term target of bringing gearing down to around 60%.
“I don’t want us to stop bidding for land just to manage gearing,” Kwek says. “We still need to grow.”
Refreshing overseas legacy exposure
The portfolio refresh also involves confronting underperforming overseas assets.
CDL reported S$155 million in impairments linked to two commercial properties in China — a business park in Shenzhen and a commercial complex in Shanghai.
Excluding these, profit after tax and minority interests would have reached S$800 million instead of the reported S$629.7 million.
Meanwhile, its UK legacy development portfolio — comprising sites in London, acquired between 2013 and 2017 — continues to weigh on performance.
Teddington Riverside, previewed in 2018 and completed in 2019–2020, still has 148 of 224 units unsold. At 31 and 33 Chesham Street in Belgravia, only half of the six refurbished apartments have been sold.
After a decade-long planning process, CDL secured final approval in June 2025 to redevelop the 22-acre (8.9ha) Stag Brewery site at Mortlake into a £1.1 billion (RM5.8 billion) riverside neighbourhood with 1,068 homes and community amenities.
“We want to see how we can monetise it as quickly as we can,” Kwek says.
CDL has already divested Ransome’s Wharf site for £69.08 million in 2024, having acquired it for £58 million in 2017.
The remaining UK legacy assets, valued at about S$800 million on its balance sheet, are targeted for divestment.
“Our aim is to monetise the whole portfolio this year,” says Kwek, acknowledging that execution may not be straightforward.
Living platform: Diversification and flexibility
Across Singapore, the UK, Australia and Japan, CDL has built a a diversified platform in the living sector spanning co-living, private rented housing and purpose-built student accommodation.
Globally, the portfolio amounts to about 7,600 units and beds, with a total gross development value of S$3.7 billion.
“It’s a sizeable portfolio,” Kwek remarks.
“Beyond residential-for-sale, offices, retail and hotels, this enhances our recurring income base and helps seed our fund management business.”
While monetisation and the scaling of its fund management platform have progressed more slowly than expected, Kwek says the living platform remains a potential lever for unlocking value.
Pipeline of transformative projects: carefully paced
Despite its global footprint, CDL remains anchored in Singapore, which accounts for 41% of its S$27 billion asset base. The UK makes up 20%, China 16% and the US, 7%.
Beyond its residential launches, CDL is executing large-scale mixed-use redevelopments that transform Singapore’s skyline. Union Square, developed under URA’s Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) scheme, and Newport Plaza, developed under the CBD Incentive Scheme, are both under construction.
Newport Plaza, a redevelopment of the former FujiXerox Towers, is scheduled for completion in 2028. Meanwhile, Union Square — a redevelopment of the former Central Mall and neighbouring Central Square — is targeted for completion in 2029.
In May 2024, CDL also won the collective sale of Delfi Orchard for S$439 million, having already owned 84% of the strata-titled units in the freehold development. There is potential to explore the SDI scheme for a broader Orchard Road transformation involving the amalgamation and redevelopment of the neighbouring Claymore Connect and Orchard Hotel, where CDL owns the underlying freehold tenure.
In the pipeline is the redevelopment of the City House office building, which has a prominent frontage on Cross Street, Robinson Road and Cecil Street. CDL is applying for the the CBD Incentive Scheme, which allows the new development to enjoy a 25% uplift in gross floor area.
However, undertaking multiple large-scale redevelopments simultaneously would result in income disruption from operational assets such as Delfi Orchard and City House.
“It’s something we have to pace instead of doing all at once,” says Kwek, citing gearing and cash flow considerations.
At Union Square, the office tower is 52% pre-leased to a government agency on a longterm lease. Meanwhile, the residential component, the 366-unit Union Square Residences, is more than 37.4% sold at an average price of S$3,229 psf.
Major metric: ‘The bottom line’
A year ago, a spat within CDL’s board and management spilled into public view. “We’re glad to see that it’s behind us now,” says Kwek. “We are moving forward expeditiously to unlock more value for CDL.”
The strategic review, expected to conclude by mid-year, comes at a pivotal juncture — as CDL clears legacy overseas exposure, accelerates capital recycling and recalibrates its development pipeline.
For Kwek, the most important metric remains “the bottom line”, which provides “a true sense of our assets”.
If execution matches intent, FY2025 may ultimately be remembered not just for its record residential sales but, more importantly, as the year CDL began redefining its strategy.
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