Hong Leong Group’s Executive Chairman Mr Kwek Leng Beng met with Shanghai Party Secretary Mr Chen Jining on 9 September to explore investment opportunities and strengthen the Group’s collaboration with the city.

This was the first meeting between Mr Kwek and Mr Chen, who is the leading political figure in Shanghai and serves as the Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

During the meeting, also attended by the Shanghai Mayor’s office and senior officials, Mr Chen emphasised Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans to accelerate Shanghai’s development into a leading global hub for finance, trade, shipping, and the broader economy. He highlighted the priorities of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, which aims to modernise traditional and emerging industries, advance technological innovation, and develop future-ready cities.

Mr Chen hopes Hong Leong will extend investments in new growth sectors such as science and technology areas like high-tech parks, and build on Shanghai’s initiatives to grow and cultivate an innovative industrial ecosystem. He also acknowledged Hong Leong Group’s prominent position as a leading multinational enterprise and hopes the Group would leverage its resources and cast its net wider to new priority areas such as digitalisation and sustainable building initiatives in Shanghai.

Mr Kwek expressed confidence in Shanghai’s future. “Shanghai has evolved into a truly international metropolis with a strong global presence. Our latest investment through City Developments Limited (CDL) is a mixed-use development site in the Xintiandi area of Shanghai’s Huangpu District. I am pleased to share that the project is progressing well, and we are grateful to the Huangpu District leadership for entrusting us with the development of the final parcel of land in Xintiandi. We look forward to delivering a high-quality project that supports Shanghai’s continued growth and urban renewal.” he said.

He added, “As a long-term investor in China, we remain confident in its resilience and strong fundamentals. We see abundant opportunities to deepen our presence, advance sustainable development initiatives, and contribute meaningfully to Shanghai’s ongoing transformation.” Its rapidly growing technology and innovation hubs will add to other sectors, like finance and urban management.

These could include participating in Shanghai government funds, with proceeds disbursed to companies within the high-tech, innovation framework or with global consumer connections. Mr Chen said Shanghai would continue to offer long term, stable, transparent and predictable conditions to support stronger growth for domestic and foreign companies.

Hong Leong Group in China

The Hong Leong Group entered the Chinese market in the 1980s developing its first property, the Holiday Inn Harbourview Xiamen. The hotel is now known as Millennium Harbourview Xiamen under CDL’s hospitality arm, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, which manages several of the Group’s hotels throughout the country. These include Grand Millennium Beijing, Grand Millennium Shanghai Hongqiao, Millennium Chengdu, and M Social Suzhou. 

Since then, Hong Leong has reinforced its long-term commitment to China by expanding into real estate through CDL and Hong Leong Holdings, as well as building construction via its manufacturing arm, Hong Leong Asia (HLA).

Today, CDL’s China arm has amassed a robust portfolio across major Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, including Shanghai, Suzhou, Chongqing, and Shenzhen. Hong Leong Holdings continues to be active in major urban hubs, building mixed-use developments across Chinese cities, including Chengdu and Chongqing.

Hong Leong Asia, through subsidiary China Yuchai International Limited, a leading powertrain solutions provider, has increased research and development efforts in new energy solutions. Its main operations are in Yulin City, in Guangxi, with additional production facilities in Guangdong, Hubei and Liaoning.