HKMA’s former chief executive files a SPAC listing as his blank cheque company scours for fintech targets to acquire

A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called HK Acquisition Corp has filed to raise funds on the Hong Kong stock exchange to buy fintech companies

The so-called blank cheque company is owned by Norman Chan, the former HKMA head, and family members of the city’s former chief executive Donald Tsang

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Flags outside the Hong Kong Exchange Square building in Central on 24 March 2020. Photo: Robert Ng.

Published: 2:21pm, 1 Mar 2022Updated: 11:42am, 3 Mar 2022

Corrected [11:40am, 3 Mar, 2022]

[11:40am, 3 Mar, 2022]
Corrects name of Hong Kong's chief executive during Norman Chan's tenure in 11th paragraph.

The former head of Hong Kong’s de facto central bank has formed a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with two family members of the city’s former chief executive, as they look to bank on their credentials to raise funds for their blank cheque company.

Named HK Acquisition Corp, the company filed a draft prospectus sponsored solely by Haitong International on the city’s stock exchange on Monday night. Norman Chan Tak-lam, former chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, owns 51 per cent of the SPAC.

The other 49 per cent is co-owned by Katherine Tsang, former chairperson of Standard Chartered Greater China and the younger sister of Hong Kong’s former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, and investment firm Max Giant, which she and her nephew Thomas Tsang Hing-shun co-founded. The younger Tsang, the son of the former Hong Kong leader, is also Max Giant’s chief investment officer.

SPACs are shell companies created to raise financial war chests through a share sale to investors, using the proceeds to buy assets within a limited period of time. As a late comer to SPACs, the Hong Kong exchange has opened its doors to their listings since January, guarding the new regime with some of the most stringent requirements compared to other markets such as the US, UK and Singapore.

Retiring Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Norman Chan Tak-lam meets the press at Two International Finance Centre (IFC) in Central on 30 September 2019. Photo: Nora Tam

Hong Kong allows only professional investors to buy and deal in shares issued by a SPAC, and listings need to raise at least HK$1 billion (US$128 million) to qualify for its main board, the highest requirement among all exchanges.

“Our promoters, Dr. Chan and Ms. Tsang, have played very substantial roles in the development and innovation of Hong Kong’s financial services industry,” HK Acquisition Corp said in its listing prospectus. Its directors and senior management are “home-grown icons valuing integrity and ethics as their primary priorities,” who are dedicated to launching a SPAC to support this novel listing alternative of the city’s capital market, the company said.

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