20240207 HKEX SGX

SPACs have largely failed so far to deliver to investors the high returns they have sought. (Source photos by Reuters and Akira Kodaka) 

Singapore, Hong Kong SPAC failures highlight thwarted ambitions

Lack of new listings and stalled mergers dim prospects for 'blank-check companies'

SINGAPORE -- Two years after Asia's two big financial hubs, Singapore and Hong Kong, allowed so-called blank-check companies as a novel way to help fast-growing tech startups and others go public on their bourses, the results have fallen short of expectations.

These fundraising vehicles, known as special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), raise money with a promise to invest in an operating company. They have largely failed to deliver an era of quicker listings of tech upstarts on Asian exchanges.

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