Buzz Over OCBC Chief's Retirement, Largest REIT Listing on SGX in a Decade

NTT DC REIT will be one to watch; GE also in spotlight after failed delisting vote

- Sue-Ann Tan

Shares of OCBC Bank climbed 2.6 per cent over the week to close at $16.89 on July 11, just before the bank announced after market hours that its chief executive would be retiring.

Ms Helen Wong, 64, will be retiring on Dec 31, OCBC announced in a bourse filing. She will be succeeded by Mr Tan Teck Long, 55, who will assume the role on Jan 1, 2026.

Mr Tan, a veteran with more than 30 years of banking experience, was the group chief risk officer at DBS Bank before he joined OCBC in March 2022.

Insurer Great Eastern (GE) was also in the spotlight last week after a vote to delist it from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) fell through.

Around 63.5 per cent of minority shareholders present at a July 8 extraordinary general meeting voted in favour of the delisting resolution, falling short of the minimum 75 per cent required for the delisting to take place.

Mr Wong Hong Sun and his family, who hold 25.5 per cent of the 29.6 million shares owned by minority shareholders, voted against the delisting. Mr Wong is the grandson of Mr Wong Siew Qui, who was chairman of Great Eastern Life Assurance Co from 1951 to 1969.

If enough shareholders had voted to delist, they would have received $30.15 per share under a $900 million exit offer by OCBC for the remaining 6.28 per cent of GE shares it does not own.

This final offer is higher than the bank's original $25.60 per share offer for GE in May 2024, and was assessed as fair and reasonable by Ernst & Young, the independent financial adviser appointed by GE.

Moving forward, GE will remain listed and may resume trading on the SGX if its free float is restored at 10 per cent.

But there is also a chance that GE may not be able to restore its free float and its trading will remain suspended, due to a provision that minority shareholders can elect to get bonus ordinary shares or Class C non-voting shares.