Frasers Promotes Eric Gan to FHT CEO as Eu Chin Fen Takes Over Hospitality Division

Following the failed privatisation of Frasers Hospitality Trust last September, sponsor Frasers Property has made a change at the top with the appointment of Eric Gan as CEO of the Singapore-listed REIT’s managers, succeeding Eu Chin Fen.

Eu in turn will take over as CEO of the Frasers Hospitality business unit, the developer said late Friday in a release. The latter role has been handled by Frasers Property CEO Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi — son of the group’s chairman, Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi — since the retirement of Teck Koh in October 2021.

Gan, 51, currently serves as chief financial officer of FHT’s managers, which oversee a S$1.9 billion ($1.4 billion) portfolio of 14 hotels and serviced residences in Asia, Australia and Europe. Liu Qingbin, a vice president for finance at the managers, will assume the CFO role. All three appointments take effect on 1 February.

“I am pleased to announce leadership changes that further strengthen our existing leadership team in the hospitality business,” Panote said. “Their appointments reinforce the effectiveness of our executive development, is part of our strategic talent and succession planning and demonstrates how we are able to maximise the leadership expertise in the group.”

Turning the Page

Before joining FHT, Gan was chief financial officer from 2014 to 2018 at SGX-listed OUE Hospitality REIT (later merged into OUE Commercial REIT). Earlier he served as CFO of the Meritus hospitality division at OUE, the Singaporean developer controlled by Indonesia’s Riady family.

Eu has been chief executive of FHT since April 2021, coming after her previous stint in the same post from the trust’s listing in 2014 until 2019. In the intervening years she was chief investment officer of Frasers Hospitality.

FHT units were trading Monday at S$0.46, unchanged from a year ago, after a mid-2022 spike to around S$0.70 that coincided with Frasers Property’s announced plan to take the trust private at that price. But in September the privatisation scheme came up short by the barest of margins, as unitholders representing 74.88 percent of FHT’s stapled securities approved the proposal — narrowly missing the 75 percent threshold for passage.

“While we believe that the privatisation has its merits, stapled securityholders have expressed their preference for FHT to remain listed and we are heartened by their support and confidence for FHT,” Eu said at the time.

In a November update, the trust reported a 13.5 percent rise in gross revenue and a 22.7 percent jump in net property income in its financial second half compared with year-earlier levels. The managers cited a gradual recovery in the hospitality industry as more countries transitioned to the endemic phase of COVID-19.

High-Level Changes

The latest reshuffle in the Frasers Property empire follows last month’s appointment of Charoen’s son Thapana to the developer’s board and the concurrent retirements of five directors.

On 1 January, the 47-year-old Thapana assumed the roles of non-executive and non-independent director, member of the executive committee and member of the remuneration committee. He has served as the president and CEO of the Bangkok-based, Singapore-listed drinks company founded by his father, Thai Beverage, since January 2008.

In addition to Charoen, Thapana joined a board that includes his mother, Khunying Wanna, who serves as vice-chairman, and his younger brother, Panote.

Headquartered in Singapore, Frasers Property has total assets of S$40.2 billion ($30.4 billion) across the residential, retail, commercial and industrial segments, as well as hospitality.