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Fast fashion retailer Shein is now looking to list in Hong Kong, after plans for an initial public offering in London did not get the backing of regulators in China, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Reuters said Shein plans to file a draft prospectus with Hong Kong’s stock exchange in the weeks to come. The Reuters report cited ‘three sources with knowledge of the matter’. It reported that two of those sources said Shein plans to list in Hong Kong ‘within the year’. Reuters had reported in April that Shein received the backing of the UK Financial Conduct Authority for a planned initial public offering in London. It said that Shein informed the China Securities Regulatory Commission of the FCA backing. However, the April report from Reuters said Shein was yet to receive a green light from the Chinese regulator. The executive chair of Shein in March told the Times that the fashion firm does want a stock market listing. Donald Tang told the newspaper that Shein wants to be ‘in the fish tank for everybody to examine in the public square’. Tang said: ‘We want to be a listed company.’ He also told the Times that Shein wanted to ‘embrace the accountability and transparency of being a public company’. However, Tang did not confirm if London was the favoured destination for its listing. He said: ‘London has super-high, very respectable regulatory standards. The prime minister has said that. Both parties have said that. And we admire that very much.’ Shein, founded in China and now based in Singapore, has encountered hurdles in its IPO efforts, including political pressure in the UK over alleged supply chain and labour abuses. A London listing would have been a major coup for the ’Square Mile’ which has struggled to stem the exodus of firms to the US and elsewhere. Chip designer Arm Holdings PLC spurned London for a New York IPO in 2023. Flutter Entertainment PLC, which owns Paddy Power and SkyBet, moved its primary listing to New York in May 2024. Building materials firm CRH and plumbing and heating products supplier Ferguson Enterprises Inc had done the same in September 2023 and May 2022, respectively. Miner BHP Group Ltd at the start of 2022 moved its London primary listing to Sydney. For London listings, moving the primary listing elsewhere means the shares are no longer eligible for inclusion in the FTSE 100 index. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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