By Justina Lee

A special-purpose acquisition vehicle backed by China Merchants Bank Co. has applied for a public offering in Hong Kong, making it the first such company to seek a listing under new rules in the Asian financial hub.

Aquila Acquisition Corp. plans to used proceeds from the offering to combine with one or more target companies in the field of "new economy" sectors including green energy, life sciences and advanced technology and manufacturing in Asia, with a focus on China, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse late Monday. It added, however, that it may pursue a target company in any sector.

It would have two years to announce a merger target, and three years to complete a merger.

The newly formed company, whose ultimate parent is China Merchants Bank, is the first SPAC to file for a listing in Hong Kong after the city moved to allow such vehicles with effect from Jan. 1.

A SPAC is a shell company that raises money and trades on a stock exchange with the intent of merging with a private company and taking it public. Combining with a SPAC has become a popular alternative to a traditional initial public offering because it is often faster and lets the company going public to make business projections, which isn't allowed in a traditional IPO.

Aquila didn't specify a timeline for the offering nor say how much it intends to raise. Morgan Stanley and CMB International Capital are acting as the joint sponsors of the offering.

Numerous Asian investment firms have gone to U.S. stock exchanges to list SPACs in recent years, as the vehicles grew in popularity. Hong Kong's exchange, like its regional rival Singapore which also recently introduced rules for allowing SPACs, wants to attract business from the deal makers that put such vehicles together and the startups that merge with them to go public.


Write to Justina Lee at justina.lee@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-17-22 2340ET