Legal

OCBC files for Xihe Holdings to be placed under judicial management

OCBC “strongly distrusts” the current management of Xihe and suggests restructuring to restore confidence for potential investors, reports The Business Times.

Published

5 years ago

July 22, 2020

Admin

Singapore’s third largest bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) have filed an affidavit for Xihe Holdings, a private company owned by the Lim family, to be placed under judicial management following incidents of fraud uncovered at Hin Leong Trading (HLT), reports The Business Times.

In the filing, OCBC claims the mismanagement in terms of financial reporting and other such “serious irregularities” in HLT are also present in Xihe, causing the bank to “strongly distrust” the current management of the company.

OCBC Bank has put forward Seshadri Rajagopalan and Paresh Jotangia of Grant Thornton Singapore to be appointed as independent Interim Judicial Managers (IJMs) for Xihe along with four of its subsidiaries: Da Xin Tankers, Hua Guang Shipping, Nan King Maritime and Hua Xin Shipping in order to restore confidence in potential investors.

"The Xihe subsidiaries have persistently failed to seek and collect payments from Ocean Tankers for months or years, to the prejudice of creditors of the Xihe Group and in breach of contractual obligations owed to OCBC," stated OCBC in its court filing.

Some incidents cited by OCBC that raised some red flags include Xihe transferring USD 208.1 million to HLT via its subsidiary Ocean Tankers "for no valid commercial purpose" and some bareboat charters of OCBC-funded vessels were cancelled without OCBC's authorisation.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), court appointed IJM’s of HLT have diagnosed HLT has no chance to restructure without the owners committing their own assets to turn the ship around as the company would have trouble raising any funds independently.

PwC also suggested HLT be integrated with other assets owned by the Lim Family under Ocean Tankers Pte Ltd and Universal Terminal to leverage the company’s value as its operations are interdependent on these companies.

Photo credit: Aditya-chinchure
Published: 22 July, 2020

Vessel Arrest

Malaysia: MMEA detains tanker for anchoring without permission near Port Klang

Tanker was anchored 5.9 nautical miles west of Pulau Pintu Gedong; Second Deck Officer and Second Engineer were taken to the Pulau Indah marine police jetty for further action.

Published

1 day ago

April 24, 2025

Admin

Malaysia: MMEA detains tanker for anchoring without permission near Port Klang

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Wednesday (23 April) said it detained a tanker for anchoring without permission at 5.9 nautical miles west of Pulau Pintu Gedong at about 3.15pm on 22 April.

The ship was operated by a 36-year-old Thai captain with 16 crew members aged between 20 and 55 years, consisting of 13 Thais including two women, two Myanmar nationals and an Indonesian national.

The inspection found that the ship had committed an offence under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 by not obtaining permission from the Director-General of the Malaysian Maritime Department and for failing to fly the Malaysian flag.

The tanker’s Second Deck Officer and Second Engineer were taken to the Pulau Indah marine police jetty for further action.

Photo credit: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
Published: 24 April, 2025

Legal

BlackStone & Gold on causation in misdelivery cases: “Maersk Katalin”

Law firm provides an analysis on misdelivery claims and whether the pendulum has swung back in favour of the banks after a recent spat of successes for shipowners defending against misdelivery claims.

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2025

Admin

Law firm BlackStone & Gold recently provided Singapore-based bunkering publication Manifold Times its analysis on misdelivery claims and whether the pendulum has swung back in favour of the banks after a recent spat of successes for shipowners defending against misdelivery claims:

By Baldev Bhinder, Managing Director, and Ramandeep Kaur, Director of BlackStone & Gold

The original bill of lading (“OBL”) represents the cornerstone of security for international trade finance. Lenders seek a right to the OBLs because it would give them a notional right to the cargo and in its absence, a claim for misdelivery against shipowners that released the cargo without presentation of OBLs.

A series of decisions from Singapore and UK between 2021 and 2024 however signalled a weakening of misdelivery claims, with shipowners successfully resisting such claims (in summary judgment applications or on merits).

These decisions have put the spotlight on the defence of causation of the loss, and in particular whether holders of OBLs like banks would have allowed discharge without presentation of the OBLs. This examination of the lender’s conduct in turn brings into focus the multiple layers of security in a trade finance structure and the lender’s knowledge of permitting cargo discharge without OBLs, thereby setting up a defence against misdelivery claims.

The “Maersk Katalin” [2024] SGHC 282, provided an occasion for the Singapore High Court to analyse the issue of causation at trial. This case makes clear the highly factual nature of the causation defence – a shipowner resisting a misdelivery claim would therefore have to lead evidence that the bank making the misdelivery claim would have been consulted and would have permitted discharge without OBLs.

From the bank’s perspective, this case underscores the need for banks to be alive to any conduct, which may undermine the value of the OBL as security – this is particularly so when straddling the different types of security interests that the bank takes.

Note: The full article by BlackStone & Gold can be read here.

Photo credit: BlackStone & Gold
Published: 24 April, 2025

Winding up

Singapore: Annual general meetings scheduled for Xihe Holdings subsidiaries

Development includes Da Xin Tankers, Dong Sheng Tankers, Dong Ya Tankers and Hua Zhong Shipping; meetings will be held electronically on 7 and 8 May, according to Government Gazette notices.

Published

2 days ago

April 23, 2025

Admin

Several notices were published on the Government Gazette on Tuesday (22 April) regarding the annual general meetings of the companies and creditors to be held electronically on 22 April for Xihe Holdings subsidiaries.

The subsidiaries are Dong Sheng Tankers Pte Ltd, Da Xin Tankers Pte Ltd, Dong Ya Tankers Pte Ltd, and Hua Zhong Shipping Pte Ltd.

Annual general meeting for Dong Sheng Tankers are to be held on 8 May at the following times:

For the company: 2pm

Annual general meetings for Da Xin Tankers are to be held on 7 May at the following times:

For the company: 10am
For the creditors: 11am

Annual general meetings for Dong Ya Tankers are to be held on 8 May at the following times:

For the company: 10am
For the creditors: 11am

Annual general meetings for Hua Zhong Shipping are to be held on 7 May at the following times:

For the company: 2pm
For the creditors: 3pm

The agenda for all the meetings are:

To receive an update on the liquidation.
To receive an account of the Liquidators’ acts and dealings, and of the conduct of the winding up

Manifold Times previously reported on the winding up of Da Xin Tankers, Dong Ya Tankers and Hua Zhong Shipping Pte Ltd and the appointment of the joint and several liquidators of the firms.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 23 April, 2025