Ahmad Mohd Don replaces Jeffrey Cheah as Sunway REIT chairman

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 30): Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd non-independent non-executive chairman Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah Fook Ling (pictured) will relinquish his position effective today, as part of efforts to enhance board independence.

Cheah, 71, who is founder and executive chairman of Sunway Group, was appointed to the board of directors of Sunway REIT Management on March 24, 2010.

In a statement yesterday, the manager of Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (Sunway REIT) said its senior independent non-executive director Tan Sri Ahmad Mohd Don, 69, will replace Cheah as independent non-executive chairman starting Oct 1. Ahmad was the governor of Bank Negara Malaysia from May 1994 to August 1998.

“The change from a non-independent chairman to an independent chairman is in line with the REIT manager’s endeavour to continuously enhance its best corporate governance practices, which are consistent with the principles and recommendations of the Malaysian Corporate Governance Code 2012,” said Sunway REIT Management.

Following Cheah’s resignation, the board of directors will comprise seven directors of which the ratio of independent directors to non-independent directors is 3:4.

“The composition of the board is optimal in capacity and well equipped with diverse expertise and experience,” it added.

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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on Sept 30, 2016. Subscribe to The Edge Financial Daily here.