Keppel REIT Names Chua Hsien Yang as CEO, Replacing Koh Wee Lih

Singapore-listed Keppel REIT has named Chua Hsien Yang as CEO to succeed Koh Wee Lih from 1 January 2025.

This move is part of Keppel’s succession planning and regular rotation of leadership roles, the commercial property trust’s manager said Friday in a release.

Singapore-based Chua joined Keppel in 2008 and is currently the managing director and head of mergers and acquisitions, a role he has held since February 2021. Before that, he was the CEO of Keppel DC REIT Management, from the listing of Keppel DC REIT in 2014 through 2021. Chua’s experience also includes having served as senior vice president at Keppel REIT, where he headed the investment team.

“Hsien Yang brings to Keppel REIT his wealth of experience in real estate investment and asset management,” said Tan Swee Yiow, chairman of the REIT’s manager.

Helming the Flagship Trust

In his new role, Chua will be responsible for working with the board to determine the strategy for Keppel Ltd’s flagship REIT, as well as for leading the management team in executing those plans, the manager said in a filing on Friday.

Keppel REIT is managed by Keppel REIT Management Ltd and sponsored by Temasek Holdings-backed Keppel Ltd, a global asset manager and operator.

Chua has over 20 years of experience in real estate fund management and hospitality and has been employed by companies in the Keppel universe since 2008, when he was hired as senior vice president for investment at Keppel REIT.

The graduate of the University of Western Australia and the University of Canterbury in New Zealand also spent two years with Ascott Group, the residential division of Temasek-controlled Capitaland. His expertise spans mergers and acquisitions, real estate investment, business development, and asset management.

Three-Year Term

Chua is replacing Koh, who will step down as CEO on 31 December 2024 to assume a new role as managing director for business development at Keppel. Koh, who also serves as president of quasi-official industry group the REIT Association of Singapore (REITAS) has served as CEO of Keppel REIT since December 2021.

Under Koh’s leadership, Keppel REIT in April this year acquired a 50 percent stake in an office tower in central Sydney, Australia from a fund managed by Mirvac. In October 2022 the trust entered the Japanese market with a S$85.7 million ($60.5 million) acquisition of the capital’s most famous shopping street Ginza 2-chome in Tokyo.

Keppel REIT’s portfolio of properties in Singapore, Australia, South Korea, and Japan, according to the trust is valued at over S$9 billion ($6.8 billion), according to the manager’s statement on Friday. In addition to its flagship trust, Keppel’s listed funds include Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT), Keppel DC REIT and Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT.

Last month, Keppel REIT reported that its distributable income fell 1.9 percent year-on-year to S$160.6 million ($122.2 million) for the first nine months of the fiscal year, mainly due to higher borrowing costs.