SPAC Regulation in Singapore and Hong Kong : Designing a Regulatory Framework for New SPAC Markets

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs, have become popular investment vehicles in 2020-2021. In response to this recent growth in popularity, regulators in Singapore and Hong Kong have introduced new listing rules permitting the listing of SPACs in their jurisdictions. In doing so, they have generally referred to the regulations and market practices in the US. These represent a set of norms which have been negotiated between regulators, SPAC managers and investors over decades of transactions. Regulators in Singapore and Hong Kong have innovated on these basic rules in response to recent criticisms of the SPAC structure and to accommodate local market factors and regulatory aims. This paper will examine how the regulators have, in the process of setting up SPAC markets locally, leveraged on the regulations and practices in the US as a starting point and how the consultation process allowed them to fine-tune their proposals