(Reuters) -Shein is working towards a listing in Hong Kong, as Chinese regulators did not approve the online fast-fashion retailer’s proposed IPO in London, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
Here’s a timeline of the Singapore-headquarted company’s attempts to go public and the various setbacks it has encountered.
Shein had moved its headquarters from China to Singapore in 2022, while its supply chains and warehouses largely remain in China.
JANUARY 2022
Shein revives plans to list in New York. Founder Chris Xu considers changing his citizenship to bypass proposed tougher rules for offshore IPOs in China, two sources told Reuters.
It had first started preparing for a U.S. IPO about two years prior to this but shelved the plan partly due to unpredictable markets amid rising U.S.-China tensions, sources told Reuters.
FEBRUARY 2022
Shein puts its U.S. listing plans on hold due to volatile capital markets amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, sources say.
MARCH 2023
Shein was set to raise around $2 billion in a new funding round. The company was aiming for a U.S. listing in the second half of 2023, sources said.
MAY 2023
A bipartisan group of two dozen U.S. representatives calls on the Securities and Exchange Commission to halt Shein’s IPO, until it verifies that Shein is not using forced labor, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
JUNE 2023
Shein makes moves to register with regulators for an IPO in New York, people familiar with the matter said.
JULY 2023
Shein was working with at least three investment banks about a potential U.S. IPO and was in talks with the NYSE and Nasdaq, sources said.
NOVEMBER 2023
Shein targets a valuation of as much as $90 billion for an eventual U.S. IPO, Bloomberg News reported.
The fashion company confidentially files to go public in the United States, according to Reuters sources.
U.S. lawmakers once again demand proof that Shein’s $5 t-shirts and $10 sweaters were not being produced using forced labor.
DECEMBER 2023
Shein held talks with the London Stock Exchange about the possibility of a public listing in the United Kingdom, Sky News reported, citing sources.
JANUARY 2024
Shein seeks Beijing’s nod to go public in the U.S. to comply with new listing rules for local firms, two sources told Reuters.
FEBRUARY 2024
Republican Senator Marco Rubio asks the U.S. SEC to block Shein’s New York listing bid unless the company makes additional disclosures about its business operations and “the serious risks of doing business” in China.
Jeremy Hunt, British Finance Minister at the time, held talks with Shein’s Executive Chairman Donald Tang, and the fast-fashion chain is keen to list in London, a UK government source told Reuters.
MAY 2024
Shein steps up preparations for a London listing after its attempt to float itself in New York faced regulatory hurdles and pushback from U.S. lawmakers, sources said.
Shein plans to update China’s securities regulator on the change of the IPO venue and file with the LSE as soon as May 2024, said one of them.
Senior British lawmakers, including the chairs of three parliamentary committees, questioned Shein’s suitability for a London stock market listing and called for greater scrutiny of the Chinese-founded firm.
JUNE 2024
Britain’s Labour Party says it has met with Shein ahead of a potential London-listing.
Shein confidentially files papers with Britain’s markets regulator in early June, two sources said.
UK-based human rights group Stop Uyghur Genocide launches a legal campaign to block Shein’s potential London listing.
JULY 2024
A new campaign backed by British retail consultant and television personality Mary Portas launches an online petition calling on the new Labour government to block Shein’s London listing.
OCTOBER 2024
Shein was set to hold informal investor meetings for its planned London IPO, sources said.
DECEMBER 2024
Britain’s financial regulator takes longer than usual to approve Shein’s IPO. It is checking supply chain oversight and assessing legal risks after an advocacy group challenges the listing, sources report.
Shein considers asking UK regulators to waive listing rules that require at least 10% of its shares to be sold to the public in its planned IPO, sources said.
JANUARY 2025
Shein aims to list in London in the first half of the year, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, assuming it gains regulatory approvals.
Senior UK lawmaker flags concerns about Shein to LSE and regulator.
Shein tells UK lawmakers it does not allow Chinese cotton in products sold in the U.S.
FEBRUARY 2025
Shein is set to cut its valuation in a potential London IPO to around $50 billion, said three sources, nearly a quarter less than the company’s 2023 fundraising value.
Shein’s London listing plans are likely to be postponed to the second half of this year after Donald Trump’s move to close so-called “de minimis” rules, the Financial Times reported.
Shein is under pressure to cut its valuation to about $30 billion ahead of its London listing, Bloomberg News reported.
APRIL 2025
Shein secures approval from Britain’s FCA for its planned London IPO, according to two sources.
But also needs to secure approvals from Chinese regulators, notably the CSRC, for the London float, sources have said.
MAY 2025
Shein drops Brunswick and FGS, the two communications firms supporting its push for a London IPO, a source familiar with the matter confirms, in the latest sign that the flotation is not going to plan.
(SOURCES: Reuters stories, other media)
(Compiled by Ankita Bora and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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