Shein Seeks US IPO with Valuation of USD 60 Billion, Reports Say
According to sources, Shein, the Chinese e-commerce company specializing in fashion and valued at over $60 billion, has filed for an initial public offering in New York. The company has been facing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers regarding its labor practices.
The stock market debut could make Shein the most valuable Chinese company to list in the U.S. since ride-hailing giant Didi Global listed in New York in 2021 at a valuation of $68 billion.
Didi was removed from New York a year later against the Chinese tech giants in Beijing over antitrust and data security rules.
Sources said Shein has confidentially filed an IPO registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The stock debut could come before the end of 2023, the sources added.
The sources requested anonymity because the matter is confidential.
A Shein spokesperson said via email that the company “disputes these rumors.” The spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for additional information. The SEC declined to comment.
As she pursues her IPO plans, Shein weathers heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over trade, sensitive technology, human rights and the future of Taiwan.
Its listing is opposed by a bipartisan group of two dozen U.S. representatives, who have asked the SEC to ensure the company does not use forced labor before allowing it to list in New York.
Shein has said it adheres to ethical sourcing standards and denied claims it sources from China’s Xinjiang region, where materials such as cotton are often the product of forced labor by Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority. The US bans exports from Xinjiang for this reason.
U.S. lawmakers are also seeking to limit the “retail” duty exemption widely used by e-commerce retailers such as Shein to ship orders from China to the United States. A federal news release in April accused Shein of using the exemption to avoid tariffs and bring in imports. illegally manufactured goods.
Shein was valued at more than $60 billion in a $2 billion private fundraising round in March. General Atlantic, Mubadala, Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital China are its investors.
Shein has been eyeing a U.S. IPO for at least three years, but was daunted by headwinds that included U.S. scrutiny of China’s accounting practices and bouts of market volatility fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
More than a year ago, company founder Chris Xu moved the company’s headquarters to Singapore from Nanjing, the capital of China’s eastern Jiangsu province, helping Shein circumvent China’s new strict regulations on overseas listings.
