OCBC should sell Chulia Street office buildings
SHAREHOLDERS of OCBC who gather at the annual general meeting on Apr 17 should be generally upbeat.
The bank’s net profit rose 8 per cent from a year ago to S$7.6 billion in 2024. Including the recommended final dividend and special dividend, dividend per share for 2024 will total S$1.01, up 23 per cent from that in 2023.
However, some shareholders may have reservations over how well OCBC, led by group chief executive officer Helen Wong, who took the helm in April 2021, is performing relative to market leader DBS.
OCBC posted return on equity (ROE) of 11.1 per cent, 13.7 per cent and 13.7 per cent respectively in 2022, 2023 and 2024 – well below DBS’ ROE of 15.0 per cent, 18.0 per cent and 18.0 per cent in 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively.
Perhaps, shareholders might also want to know how Wong and the OCBC board are optimising the value from the bank’s ownership of 63, 65 Chulia Street and 18 Church Street in Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD).
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