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Shein’s Hong Kong flotation avoids a London listing
London’s Financial Conduct Authority ultimately allowed Shein to proceed elsewhere after US scrutiny around its supply chain and past reluctance to answer operational questions at UK hearings.
Shein will float next week in Hong Kong instead of pursuing a London listing, a move that has been framed as the UK market dodging a difficult case for investors and regulators, according to the Guardian Business.
The report says the London flotation was discussed for much of 2024 and into last year as UK politicians engaged with Shein ahead of a potential UK move.
In the Guardian account, Shein was viewed as a potential boost to a sluggish London listings market and an opportunity to signal openness to international capital, but it ultimately rejected New York amid US and China tensions and hostile questions from lawmakers about labor practices in its supply chain.
The outlet also points to prior UK regulatory and parliamentary interactions, saying the Financial Conduct Authority took the view that legal risks carried by overseas operations were not unusual as long as companies disclosed enough for investors to judge for themselves. It adds that in January of the prior year, Shein’s Europe general counsel at a Commons committee meeting did not provide operational details when questioned by Liam Byrne about sourcing of cotton, including links to the Xinjiang region, though the company had said it signed compliance statements to modern slavery acts in multiple jurisdictions.