Singapore SPACs still draw investor interest despite ‘challenging’ environment, says exchange executive
- SPACs face a ‘more challenging’ environment as global fundraising for the investment vehicles slows
- Three SPACs have listed in Singapore this year since new rules were introduced
Investors still have an appetite for special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) listed in Singapore despite a “more challenging” environment for the investment vehicles this year, according to the head of the Singapore Exchange’s regulatory arm.
Singapore and Hong Kong both introduced new rules last year to allow the so-called blank cheque companies to go public on their bourses amid a fervour for the listings among investors and sponsors that saw more than US$162 billion raised by the vehicles globally in 2021.
“For us, it’s never been about a numbers game. We always knew that we were not going to be a SPAC market in the same way the [United] States was going to be a SPAC market,” Tan Boon Gin, the CEO of Singapore Exchange Regulation, told the Post.
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“The reason why we came out with the SPAC framework was to solve a unique problem in the Singapore ecosystem, which is that of valuations, especially for our growth companies,” he added. “We believe having the SPAC framework in place will actually go some way towards bridging the gap in valuations that we see today.”
The Singapore Exchange declined to comment on its pipeline for additional SPAC listings.
A handful of blank cheque companies are understood to be considering listings in Singapore, but have not filed publicly yet.
