Shein Confidentially Files for £63.3 Billion London IPO Amidst Controversy and Geopolitical Tensions

Despite challenges, Shein's London IPO could value the company at around £35 billion ($63.3 billion).
Shein, a fast fashion retailer founded by Xu Yangtian in 2008, confidentially filed for a public listing in London after failing to win support for its US IPO.
Shein ditched its variable interest entity (VIE) structure and set up global headquarters in Singapore in 2021.
Shein's London IPO could be the biggest in London since 2011, as Chinese companies face difficulties listing on American exchanges.
The company had raised over $4.5 billion from investors and faced opposition due to concerns about forced labor and use of tax exemptions.
The retailer faces regulatory limbo due to geopolitical tensions between US and China, as well as criticism from media outlets over forced labor and intellectual property infringements.
Shein Confidentially Files for £63.3 Billion London IPO Amidst Controversy and Geopolitical Tensions

Fast fashion retailer Shein, which has faced backlash in the US due to concerns about forced labor and use of a U.S. tax law exemption known as de minimis, has confidentially filed for a public listing in London as it failed to win support for its US IPO.

Shein, founded by Xu Yangtian in Nanjing, China, in October 2008, had previously sought approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to go public but faced opposition from American lawmakers. The company has raised over $4.5 billion through eight funding rounds from investors such as Jafco Asia, IDG Capital, Greenwoods Asset Management, Mubadala Investment Company, HongShan (formerly the Chinese arm of Sequoia Capital), Tiger Global Management and General Atlantic.

Shein's current corporate structure makes it an offshore multinational company with exposure in China. An offshore IPO by such a company would require the approval of Chinese regulators, which has caused uncertainty for Shein's London IPO plans. The retailer ditched the variable interest entity (VIE) structure and set up its global headquarters in Singapore in 2021.

Despite these challenges, Shein confidentially filed papers with the UK authorities for a potential listing in London, which could value the company at about £35 billion ($63.3 billion). However, some major shareholders have lost patience with Shein's fundraising plans and are privately asking the company to consider buying back their shares. Private trading of Shein shares continues amid concerns over limited expected returns from a London IPO.

Shein's London IPO plan is not without controversy as it faces regulatory limbo due to geopolitical tensions between the US and China, as well as concerns over forced labor and intellectual property infringements. The retailer has faced criticism from US lawmakers, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Sky and Financial Times and other media outlets.

Shein's London IPO is a significant development in the world of fashion retail as it could be the biggest IPO in London since 2011. The company's decision to file for a London IPO instead of the US comes amid increasing tensions between China and the US, which has made it difficult for Chinese companies to list on American exchanges.

Despite these challenges, Shein remains confident about its future prospects as it continues to expand its operations globally. The retailer's success can be attributed to its ability to offer trendy and affordable fashion items quickly and efficiently through its e-commerce platform.


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Confidence

91%

Doubts
  • The article mentions opposition from American lawmakers, but does not specify which laws or regulations they are opposing.
  • The article states that some major shareholders have lost patience with Shein's fundraising plans, but does not provide any names or specific numbers.

Sources

96%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Fast fashion retailer Shein confidentially files for London IPO as U.S. listing stalls

CNBC News Gabrielle Fonrouge Monday, 24 June 2024 11:56
  • Unique Points
    • Shein has confidentially filed for a public listing in London
    • Shein had previously sought China’s approval to go public in the US but failed to win support
    • Shein faces backlash in the US due to concerns about forced labor and use of a U.S. tax law exemption known as de minimis
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (95%)
    The article contains several informal fallacies, but no formal ones. The author uses inflammatory rhetoric by describing Shein as a 'digital upstart' and 'thorn in the side' of U.S.-based competitors, implying that they are inferior or problematic. The author also uses an appeal to authority when quoting elected officials expressing concerns about Shein, but this is not a fallacy on the part of the author as she is simply reporting their statements.
    • ]Shein has been a thorn in the side of U.S.-based competitors[
    • American lawmakers have called on the SEC to block Shein's listing because they say it would violate a U.S. law that bans the import of products made from the Xinjiang region in China
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

92%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Shein Confidentially Filed Papers for a Potential London IPO

Bloomberg News Now Swetha Gopinath, Monday, 24 June 2024 16:57
  • Unique Points
    • Shein filed papers for a potential London IPO with the UK authorities.
    • Shein's potential IPO could value the company at about £350 billion ($63.3 billion).
  • Accuracy
    • ][Shein filed papers for a potential London IPO with the UK authorities.][Shein's pursuit of an initial public offering (IPO) in London could value the Chinese-founded online fast-fashion marketplace at more than US$60 billion.]
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

96%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Shein's London IPO plan in regulatory limbo as investors grow jittery, sources say

Yahoo Finance South China Monday, 24 June 2024 16:59
  • Unique Points
    • Shein was founded in October 2008 by Xu Yangtian in Nanjing, China.
    • Jafco Asia, Singapore-based venture capital investor, invested US$5 million in Shein’s Series A funding round in 2013.
    • IDG Capital, Greenwoods Asset Management, Mubadala Investment Company, HongShan (formerly Chinese arm of Sequoia Capital), Tiger Global Management and General Atlantic have invested a combined US$4.04 billion through six more funding rounds in Shein.
    • Shein ditched the variable interest entity (VIE) structure and set up its global headquarters in Singapore in 2021.
    • Shein’s current corporate structure, with most of its staff and vendors on the mainland, makes it an offshore, multinational company with exposure in China. An offshore IPO by such a company would require the approval of Chinese regulators.
  • Accuracy
    • Shein's pursuit of an initial public offering (IPO) in London could value the Chinese-founded online fast-fashion marketplace at more than US$60 billion.
    • Online fashion retailer Shein filed papers for a potential London IPO with the UK authorities.
    • Shein had previously sought China’s approval to go public in the US but failed to win support.
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (95%)
    The article contains several informal fallacies and a potential appeal to authority. The author uses the phrases 'people familiar with the matter' and 'one person briefed on the situation' multiple times without providing any evidence or names of these individuals. This is an appeal to unnamed sources, which can be unreliable and potentially misleading. Additionally, there are several instances of inflammatory rhetoric used to describe Shein's regulatory challenges, such as 'regulatory vacuum' and 'troublesome'. While these phrases may be accurate descriptors, they can also elicit strong emotions in readers and detract from the objective analysis of the situation. However, no formal logical fallacies were identified in the article.
    • ]people familiar with the matter[
    • ']one person briefed on the situation[
    • The concerns of shareholders adds to the challenges Shein has faced while searching for a place to host its public debut. More troublesome for the online retailer is the regulatory vacuum it finds itself in owing to its Chinese origins and operations, said a person who is familiar with the procedures for companies to conduct offshore IPOs.
    • Shein also ditched the so-called variable interest entity (VIE) structure to set up its global headquarters in Singapore in 2021. Chinese start-ups commonly use VIEs to create an overseas shell company to control their operations at home through contractual agreements, the person familiar with offshore IPO procedures said.
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication