[SINGAPORE] Singapore buyout firm Novo Tellus Capital Partners has applied to list a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with the city-state's exchange, said sources.

The technology- and industrials-focused firm is planning to raise between S$200 million and S$250 million through an initial public offering (IPO) of the blank-cheque company, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, because the proceedings are private.

The IPO could take place as soon as the end of this year, they said.

Novo Tellus would be among the firms vying to be first to list a blank-cheque company on Singapore's exchange, a group that includes Vertex Holdings Ltd, a unit of Temasek Holdings, and European asset manager Tikehau Capital, Bloomberg News has reported.

The potential IPO comes after Singapore started allowing blank-cheque companies to list in September. Deliberations are still ongoing and the size and timeline of the Novo Tellus SPAC IPO could still change, said the sources.

Novo Tellus did not immediately respond to requests for comment made outside normal business hours.

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Novo Tellus raised US$250 million for its second South-east Asia fund in December, says its website. The firm's portfolio includes stakes in Tessolve Semiconductor, an Indian semiconductor engineering services firm, and Procurri Corp, a Singaporean provider of equipment and services to data centres, the website says.