Three SPACs are making their debuts in Singapore this month, seeking to raise a total of $370 million
the blank-check company framework gets a reboot in AsiaOn Thursday, Vertex Technology Acquisition Corp. started trading after raising 200 million Singapore dollars, the equivalent of $148 million. The company is the first special-purpose acquisition company to list in the Southeast Asian city-state since such listings. It is sponsored by Vertex Venture Holdings Ltd., the venture-capital arm of state investment company Temasek Holdings.
Asia has become a source both of targets for U.S.-listed blank-check companies, and of sponsors—the shell-company managers that look for merger targets. To boost their allure to global investors and startups in the region, Singapore and Hong Kong both put forward new frameworks for SPAC listings last year.
Private companies are flooding to special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, to bypass the traditional IPO process and gain a public listing. WSJ explains why some critics say investing in these so-called blank-check companies isn’t worth the risk. Illustration: Zoë Soriano/WSJ Singapore’s stock market has long lagged behind regional rival Hong Kong in attracting IPOs and in trading activity, and blank-check listings could help boost its listing volumes.