Shein's Move towards London IPO

TapTechNews June 25th news, Shein (pronounced She-in, registered name Xiyin), a Chinese online fast fashion retailer headquartered in Singapore, whose predecessor was the cross-border wedding dress e-commerce platform SheInside founded by Xu Yangtian in Nanjing in 2008, has now become one of the largest e-commerce platforms overseas.

The Financial Times, citing two people familiar with the matter, reported that Shein has submitted confidential documents for an initial public offering (IPO) to the British market regulator, a step closer to listing in London.

Currently, the valuation of Shein may have reached 50 billion pounds (TapTechNews note: currently about 460.982 billion yuan), which will become one of the largest and most controversial IPO transactions in the British market in recent years.

It is worth mentioning that Reuters reported in May that Shein's valuation had reached 66 billion US dollars (currently about 479.891 billion yuan) after raising funds last year, and began to contact its financial and legal advisors in London early this year to explore the possibility of listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Reuters also pointed out that Shein had previously tried to list on the New York Stock Exchange, but shifted to listing in London due to regulatory hurdles and resistance from US legislators. However, senior British MPs have also raised questions about whether Shein is suitable for listing in London and called for stricter scrutiny of the company. The Shein side responded by saying that it is strengthening corporate governance and compliance.