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Investing.com-- Shein has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, as the fast-fashion retailer seeks to pressure the UK regulator to approve its London listing plans.
The Chinese retailer filed a draft IPO prospectus with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week, and was also seeking approval from China’s securities regulator for the listing, the FT report said, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.
Shein had filed for a London IPO about 18 months ago, but was yet to receive regulatory approval for the offering, amid disagreements between Chinese and UK regulators.
The fast-fashion company still sources most of its supply chain from China, and drew criticism over its exposure to the politically sensitive Xinjiang region.
Shein’s Hong Kong IPO plans are in part to try and pressure the UK regulator into compromising on its risk disclosure requirements and approve what could be the biggest IPO for London in years, the FT report said. This also comes amid a drought in new London listings.
Still, Shein’s profits were seen tumbling in 2024, raising doubts over whether the company could achieve a privately held $66 billion valuation with its IPO.
Shein also faces increased headwinds from a trade conflict between the U.S. and China, especially as President Donald Trump removed a trade exemption for low-value imports from China– which was a major trade loophole initially used by the company to sell in the United States.
Shein’s prices for U.S. customers were seen increasing sharply earlier this year, although the company recently walked back these price increases after Washington and Beijing agreed to lower their respective tariffs.