Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam has given a boost to the city’s consultation on U.S.-style special-purpose acquisition companies. She flagged the plans for them in her annual policy address on Wednesday. But financiers’ reception of the idea has been unusually mixed so far, even though anything that earns fees while helping the Fragrant Harbour compete with New York is usually cheered. They’re sceptical that the proposed framework will pay off on either score. read more The local bourse’s plans contain safeguards not seen in New York, including limiting SPACs to professional investors and mandating a minimum size of $128 million. These, bankers fear, will deter SPAC promoters even as they acknowledge tougher rules are needed because of the city’s history of questionable backdoor listings. The minimum size is still beyond many cash-seeking startups, for example. Hong Kong could perhaps make more of a difference by targeting those smaller companies rather than trying to copy New York. (By Jennifer Hughes)