China Merchants Bank-backed SPAC files first application under new Hong Kong rules

Hong Kong

A SPAC backed by China Merchants Bank applied to list in Hong Kong late on Monday (Jan 17), the first company to do so since new rules allowing such listings took effect at the start of this year.

Interest in SPACs - special purpose acquisition companies that raise cash to buy private firms and take them public without a traditional initial public offering (IPO) - is starting to shift to Asia, with 2 SPACs set to list in Singapore later this month.