Shein’s London IPO to happen by mid-year
If the move gains regulatory approval, an IPO could be completed as early as Easter on 20 April, one source said
Shein is reportedly planning to list in London in the first half of the year, according to sources that have spoken to Reuters. If the move gains regulatory approval, an IPO could be completed as early as Easter on 20 April, one source said.
A second source told Reuters that Shein is working towards listing in the first half of this year, but that a definitive timeline is not yet set.
The news comes ahead of Rachel Reeves’s meeting with vice premier He Lifeng in China this weekend, where they will reportedly discuss economic and financial cooperation, which could help progress regulatory approvals Shein needs.
The head of Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority, which is in charge of assessing and approving flotations like Shein’s IPO, is accompanying Reeves on the trip to Beijing and Shanghai and will meet with regulatory partners there.
It comes as MPs on the Business and Trade Committee were left “horrified” this week after a representative for Shein could not answer questions over where the business sources its cotton from.
Shein’s general counsel for Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA) Yinan Zhu was asked several times whether the company uses cotton supplied from China to which she responded that she would have to write to the committee with an answer.
Zhu said: “For detailed operational information and other aspects, I am not able to assist. I will have to write back to the committee afterwards. Obviously, we comply with laws and regulations everywhere we do business in the role. And we have a supplier code of conducts, we have robust systems and procedures in place and policies in place.”
When asked if the company believed forced labour took place in Xinjiang, Zhu said to MPs that the “agenda of the committee, as I understand it, we’re looking at upholding standards, I’m only able to answer the questions that are relating to our business.”
Chairman of the committee Liam Byrne MP branded the retailer “disrespectful” following the appearance.
He said: “For a company that sells £1bn [worth of products] to UK consumers and is seeking to float on the London Stock Exchange, the committee has been pretty horrified by the lack of evidence you have provided today.”
Shein has been contacted for comment.
