SPACs provide an investing edge - but not the edge you might think

THE SPACs are coming. Blank-cheque special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) - the rage in the United States earlier this year - now have the green light to sprout in Singapore, amid what some dub a "SPAC 2.0" wave. But beware: Their 2021 US boom-turned-bust shows SPACs hold no unique market magic. Viewed correctly, SPACs offer clues about the future for equity markets. Here is how you can use SPACs to gain an edge.

SPACs aren't new - not globally, anyway. They date back decades in the US, and gained European traction in the mid-2000s.

Singapore-based investors tapped SPACs to raise money even before the Singapore Exchange (SGX)'s recent move to permit them.