In Depth: Will Wind Go Out of SPACs’ Sails in Singapore and Hong Kong?

After a record number of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) came onto the stage in the U.S. stock market in 2020, Hong Kong jumped on the bandwagon this year, with shell company Aquila Acquisition Corp. on March 18 becoming the first SPAC to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX).

This came after Hong Kong adopted new listing rules on Jan. 1 that opened the door to IPO applications from SPACs. In the three months since the new rules came into effect, a total of 11 SPACs submitted IPO applications to the HKEX, including Aquila.