By Anshuman Daga and Kane Wu

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - A new fundraising frenzy that swept Wall Street this year looks set to take hold in Asia with more than a dozen special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, on the hunt for fast-growing technology firms that are ready to go public.

SPACs are exchange-listed shell companies that raise money through initial public offerings (IPOs) and merge with firms by enticing them with shorter listing timelines. Such structures have raised a record total of more than $70 billion in the United States this year, making them one of the hottest Wall Street investment trends of 2020.

A large number of IPO-ready tech unicorns in Asia are likely to rev up action, say bankers, lawyers and investors dealing with capital raisings and mergers.

Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, Chinese buyout firm CITIC Capital, Singapore-based healthcare entrepreneur David Sin and former hedge fund manager George Raymond Zage are among a growing list of backers of SPACs.

"These days, not a single conversation goes by in Asia when SPACs are not discussed. Southeast Asia is a focus market given the number of high-growth tech-enabled companies," said Sarab Bhutani, head of Southeast Asia investment banking at Nomura.

Many SPACs are holding talks with Southeast Asia's tech, healthcare and fintech start-ups, bankers and lawyers familiar with the matter said.

Ride-hailing and food delivery giants Grab and Gojek and e-commerce firm Bukalapak have all either been approached or are targets for SPACs, they said.

Grab and Gojek declined comment, while Bukalapak did not respond to Reuters' query for comment. Traveloka, which operates Southeast Asia's largest online travel app, told Reuters it would go public soon and was evaluating a merger with a SPAC as an option.

SoftBank Group Corp's Vision Fund is also seeking to raise $525 million through such a structure.

"The IPO market is much bigger in Asia and the pipeline is very strong but we will continue to see SPACs coming out next year," said Alex Ibrahim, head of international capital markets at New York Stock Exchange.

SOUTHEAST ASIA IN FOCUS

Last month, a SPAC led by Zage raised $276 million, while Li and Thiel's Bridgetown Holdings raised $595 million to acquire a target in the technology, financial services or media sectors in Southeast Asia, making it the biggest SPAC focused on the region.

"Most growth companies in Southeast Asia are aware of the SPAC exit route and are keen to explore merging with a SPAC," said Bhutani.