KUALA LUMPUR (March 18): The Securities Commission Malaysia said today it is keeping a close watch on all rising investment trends, including the increasing popularity of SPACs or special purpose acquisition companies, which are seen as an appealing alternative route to public markets around the globe.

“At the SC, we constantly look at the latest development on the global front and we will assess if these developments are firstly relevant or [if they will] benefit the Malaysian market,” said its chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar in a virtual conference today.

“We have observed the resurgence of interest in SPACs in other jurisdictions and the heightened interest of using such fund-raising vehicles could be due to the low interest rate environment today and investors are obviously looking for alternative avenues for higher returns,” he said.

Syed Zaid added that the SC is “definitely keeping a close watch on the trends”, such as the emergence of technology-based new business models that were triggered by the global lockdown.

SPACs are not new to Malaysia, where the first SPAC was launched in June 2011 with the listing of Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.

This was followed by four more SPACs, namely CLIQ Energy Bhd in April 2013, Sona Petroleum Bhd in July 2013, Reach Energy Bhd in August 2014 and Red Sena Bhd in December 2015.

Last month, the Singapore Exchange said it could list SPACs this year if it gets enough support from the industry.