The SPAC merger has emerged as a compelling alternative to the traditional IPO for technology companies headquartered in Southeast Asia. While U.S. domestic SPAC activity has moderated from its peak, cross-border transactions involving ASEAN targets continue to attract institutional interest due to the structural advantages they offer both issuers and investors.

Structural advantages for ASEAN issuers

A SPAC business combination provides Southeast Asian companies with several distinct benefits that a traditional IPO cannot easily replicate. The ability to share forward-looking financial projections with investors during the de-SPAC process allows high-growth companies to tell their story in a way that backward-looking S-1 disclosures do not accommodate. For companies operating in markets where historical financials may understate the trajectory, this distinction is material.

Additionally, the timeline certainty of a SPAC merger, typically six to nine months from letter of intent to closing, compares favorably to the twelve to eighteen months required for a traditional cross-border IPO. For founder-led companies balancing operational execution with capital markets activity, the compressed timeline reduces distraction and execution risk.

Navigating the regulatory landscape

Cross-border SPAC transactions require careful coordination between U.S. securities law and local regulatory frameworks in jurisdictions such as Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The SEC’s enhanced disclosure requirements for de-SPAC transactions, including independent valuations and enhanced financial reporting, have raised the bar for transaction quality. Companies that invest early in U.S. GAAP readiness and internal controls implementation are better positioned to navigate the regulatory process efficiently.

The institutional investor perspective

Institutional investors increasingly recognize that Southeast Asia’s technology sector offers growth characteristics that are difficult to replicate in more mature markets. Digital payments, enterprise SaaS, and logistics technology are all scaling rapidly as the region’s six hundred and eighty million consumers continue their migration to digital platforms. SPAC mergers that bring these companies to NASDAQ provide U.S.-based funds with liquid access to this growth story, while the combined entity benefits from the valuation and visibility that a NASDAQ listing provides.