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 rest of the 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.

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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 alt=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.

Katherine Tsang King-suen, the former Chairperson of Greater China, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, poses for photographer at Standard Chartered Bank building in Central on 3 July 2010. alt=Katherine Tsang King-suen, the former Chairperson of Greater China, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, poses for photographer at Standard Chartered Bank building in Central on 3 July 2010.>

HK Acquisition Corp has also warned investors against the risk of relying on the past performances of the promoters, and the risk of the SPAC failing to identify an acquisition target within the required time frame.

"You should not rely on the historical experience of our promoters, and directors, including investments and transactions in which they have taken part ... as indicative of our future performance," it said in the prospectus.

As the head of the HKMA for a decade until he retired in September 2019, Chan has been instrumental in safeguarding the city's financial stability and helped advance the city's role as an international offshore hub of the yuan.

The career civil servant, who started his public service during British colonial days as an administrative officer, is most closely associated with the eight rounds of mortgage tightening measures that reduced banks' exposure to property downturns. As a result of the tightening, the average ratio of mortgages to property value fell to 51 per cent, from 64 per cent in 2009 when Chan took over the HKMA's reins, from as high as 70 per cent in 1997.

During his career at the monetary authority, Chan helped his predecessor Joseph Yam direct the unprecedented stock market operation by the Hong Kong government to drive away speculators who tried to attack the currency peg during the 1998 Asian financial crisis, under the administration of then chief executive Donald Tsang.

After his retirement from the HKMA, Chan set up his own fintech firm Round Dollar Wallet Technologies in 2020, offering digital payment services to facilitate cross-border payments.

Max Giant's portfolio of investments include Eat Just, a California-based start-up which creates plant-based eggs and lab-grown meat; and Neusoft Medical Systems, a clinical diagnosis and treatment solutions provider based in Liaoning province.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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