MALAYAN Banking (Maybank) has moved to protect its interests as the businesses of Lim Oon Kuin and his family come under pressure.

A document seen by The Business Times showed Maybank had on Aug 24 appointed KPMG as the receiver and manager of a vessel owned by An Ya Shipping.

Maybank had extended a mortgage to An Ya Shipping, which owns the vessel Ocean Success, in 2015.

A source with knowledge of the matter told BT on Wednesday that KPMG has also been appointed by Maybank as receivers and managers for two other shipping companies: Xin Guang Shipping and An Xing Shipping. The appointment is in relation to their Marine Topaz and Ocean Supreme vessels, respectively.

The three companies are subsidiaries of Xihe Holdings - owned by Hin Leong founder OK Lim and his son - which has been placed under the interim judicial management (IJM) of Grant Thornton Singapore.

Creditors had thrown their support behind OCBC Bank's application to take control of Xihe's restructuring out of the Lim family's hands last month.

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It is unclear how the three vessels fit within the IJM arrangement. BT understands that if the vessels are secured, it is unlikely that Grant Thornton will handle their sale or management. There may also be carve-out arrangements within the JM order to deal with specific assets.

Grant Thornton did not respond to queries from BT.

When contacted, KPMG and Maybank declined to comment on the matter.