DealStreetAsia
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is close to finalising the framework for Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) to list, but stakeholders close to these discussions have voiced concerns over key items in the bourse’s proposal.
SGX, which began a public consultation to study the feasibility of SPAC listings in January, is understood to be setting a minimum SPAC value at $200-300 million, with an eye to allowing listings in the third quarter of this year.
SPACs are blank cheque firms that raise capital solely to acquire private entities with the aim of eventually taking them public.
Two sources disclosed that a consortium of Singaporean investors including GGV Capital’s Jenny Lee, Monk’s Hill Ventures’s Lim Kuo Yi and Quest Ventures’s James Tan had previously engaged in private discussions with Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and other government agencies to find a solution.
One of the proposals presented was the setting up of a separate exchange akin to the Shanghai Stock Exchange Science and Technology Innovation Board, or better known as China’s STAR Board, which would be more friendly to Singaporean tech listings. The discussions were first conceived around 2-3 years ago and accelerated in the last 3 months, but one insider source does not think that the SGX will pull this off anytime soon.
Quest Ventures and Monk’s Hill Ventures declined to comment for the story. DealStreetAsia has contacted GGV Capital for a comment.
