According to persons familiar with the situation, Shein, an online apparel retailer from China with scale of $60 billion that is in investigation of American politicians due to its labor policy, has submitted to authorities for an IPO in New York.
After Didi Global, which is the world's biggest ride-hailing business, listed in New York in the year 2021 with a valuation of around $68 billion, Shein may become the most valuable Chinese company to do so. One year later, Didi was deleted from the stock exchange in New York because of Beijing's antitrust and data safety regulations against internet firms.
Based on the source, Shein covertly applied to register for an initial public offering with the US. The insiders claim that before the year is through, the market could make its debut.
Shein, according to a corporate spokeswoman, denies the rumor. An inquiry asking for additional information elicited no instant response from the spokeswoman. SEC officials declined to comment.
Shein is persevering with its IPO ambitions despite the current state of hostilities between the US and China regarding trade, human rights, critical technology, and the issue of Taiwan.
Two dozen of US politicians in both parties have required the SEC to confirm the company does not hire forced labor before they approve its listing since they are opposed to its IPO.
Shein has stated that it abides by criteria for ethical sourcing and has denied assertions that
it ships from the Chinese province of Xinjiang, where products such as cotton are frequently the consequence of forced labor by Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority. This is the rationale behind the US's export ban on goods from Xinjiang.
Legislators in the United States are also attempting to restrict the "de minimis" tariff exemption that is frequently used byOnline retailers like Shein to ship goods from China to the United States. In an April federal brief, Shein was accused of using exemption to import goods which were created illegally and avoid paying taxes.
A $2 billion round of private financing in March valued Shein at almost $60 billion. One of its investors is General Atlantic, together with Mubadala, Sequoia Capital China, and Tiger Global.
Shein has been thinking about an IPO in the US for no less than three years, but has been hampered by barriers including American oversight of Chinese accounting practices and market volatility driven by the COVID-19 as well as Russia's conflict with Ukraine.
Chris Xu, the business's founder, relocated its headquarters from Nanjing, capital of the country's eastern province of Jiangsu, to Singapore over a year ago. Because of this, Shein was able to avoid China's stringent new rules on offshore listings.