Chinese oil company Sinopec announces new chairman
Chinese oil and gas company Sinopec has announced Hou Qijun as its new chairman, the company said in a statement released on Friday on its social media account.
(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Ryan Woo. Editing by Jane Merrman)
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China fashion retailer Shein to file confidentially for Hong Kong IPO in rare move, sources say
China-founded fast-fashion retailer Shein plans to file a draft prospectus confidentially for its Hong Kong listing, marking a rare departure from the usual practice of companies making public filings of IPO documents, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. Shein aims to submit the filing confidentially as soon as this week, one of the sources said. A second source said the filing was expected to be made by Monday. Shein's confidential filing, if approved, would represent a waiver of one of the main listing rules by the Hong Kong exchange for one of the world's most closely-watched IPO candidates, and possibly the largest in the city this year, two of the sources said. The filing will come as the company, which sells low-priced apparel such as $5 dresses and $10 jeans in around 150 countries, makes its third attempt to go public, more than 18 months after it first filed for a U.S. IPO in late 2023. Confidential filings enable companies to keep vital operational and financial information under wraps for longer and allow them to go through the regulatory review process without public disclosure. Hong Kong's listing rules permit confidential filings for secondary listings by companies already listed on recognised overseas exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. The exchange could also waive or modify the publication requirements in a spinoff from an overseas listed parent upon application by a new applicant, the listing rules show. While this practice is common for IPO applicants in the U.S., it remains relatively rare in Hong Kong, where high-profile IPOs have included Chinese tech giants Xiaomi and Meituan, which both filed publicly for their floats. The sources spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Shein, founded by China-born entrepreneur Sky Xu, did not reply to a request for comment. The Hong Kong stock exchange declined to comment on individual companies. Documents, including financials, related to Shein's IPO will remain undisclosed until the company passes a hearing with the Hong Kong stock exchange, which is the final step in the city's regulatory approval process. Prior to that final step, Shein must secure an approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to go ahead with the Hong Kong IPO. It is not known if Shein has already secured a verbal nod from the Chinese securities regulator. The CSRC did not respond to Reuters request for comment. Reuters first reported last month, citing sources, that Shein was working towards a listing in Hong Kong after its proposed London IPO failed to secure the green light from Chinese regulators. The New York attempt also did not receive CSRC approval, Reuters previously reported. REGULATORY APPROVAL Shein's confidential submission of the prospectus enables Hong Kong and mainland Chinese regulators to assess the IPO application, raise their questions to Shein and prepare it for regulatory approval privately, the sources said. The regulators would be able to do that before public, including potential institutional investors', scrutiny of its application materials, including risk factors, they added. The filing would come against the backdrop of Shein grappling with the knock-on impacts of the Sino-U.S. trade war after U.S. President Donald Trump ended duty-free treatment of ecommerce parcels and hiked tariffs on Chinese goods, hurting its business in the U.S., its biggest market. Shein was valued at $66 billion during its pre-IPO fundraising round in 2023, down by a third from a funding round one year earlier. Its eventual IPO valuation will hinge on the impact of the tariff changes, sources have said. RISK DISCLOSURES A Shein listing would help Hong Kong, which saw $12.8 billion worth of IPOs and second listings in the first half, re-establish its credibility as a global fundraising centre at a time of major volatility stoked by U.S. trade policy changes. Shein, founded in mainland China in 2012, is hoping to succeed in Hong Kong after failed attempts to list in New York and then London, where Britain's financial regulator approved the listing. Shein will have to file with the CSRC within three working days after submitting its IPO application in Hong Kong, in line with Beijing's rules for Chinese firms seeking offshore listings. Shein shifted headquarters from China to Singapore in 2022 and does not own or operate any factories, but remains subject to Chinese IPO rules because its products are mostly made by a network of 7,000 third-party suppliers in China, sources have said. The CSRC applies the rules on a "substance over form" basis, granting it discretion on when and how to implement them. A draft prospectus would normally disclose key risks to a company including those linked to its supply chain. Shein has faced allegations from politicians and campaigners that its supply chain in China is linked to forced labour of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang, a highly contentious issue for Beijing, which denies any abuses in the cotton-producing province. The U.S. has a ban in place on imports of products made using forced labour from Xinjiang, and Shein has said it does not allow its suppliers to use Chinese cotton in U.S.-bound products. Shein has said its supplier code of conduct prohibiting forced labour applies worldwide.
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Copper slips from three-month peak on Chinese data
Copper prices slipped on Friday from a three-month peak after weak data in top metals consumer China and some profit-taking, but losses were modest due to underlying tightness and buoyant premiums. London Metal Exchange benchmark three-month copper fell 0.5% to $9,855 per metric ton in official open-outcry trading, having hit $9,917, its highest since March 27. It was up 2.2% for the week. Data showed that China's industrial profits swung back into sharp decline in May from a year earlier, as factory activity slowed. "Falling industrial profits is not a good sign for the industrial sector in general, but it's not a straight line translation to lower copper demand," said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree. "What we see is that the copper-intensive stories are probably still very much in full force at the moment." Spending by China on its power grid, for example, has been strong, Shah added. It hit a record last year and was up 19% in the first five months of 2025, Citi said in a note. Copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.5% to 79,920 yuan ($11,148.93), having hit 80,060 yuan, its highest since March 31. It was up 2% for the week. Expectations that the United States will impose tariffs on copper imports have pulled metal to that country, leaving shortages elsewhere. Data on Friday showed that inventories in warehouses monitored by ShFE slid 19% from the previous week to 81,550 tons, down 70% over the past four months. LME copper stocks have tumbled 66% in the same period, sending premiums for nearby contracts soaring. The premium for the LME cash copper contract over the three-month contract retreated on Friday to $250 a ton from $320 a ton on Thursday, its highest since November 2021. U.S. Comex copper futures fell 1.2% to $5.06 a lb, bringing the premium of Comex over LME copper to $1,311 a ton, slightly weaker than on Thursday. Among other metals, LME aluminium dipped 0.1% to $2,580 a ton, zinc shed 0.5% to $2,755, lead fell 0.3% to $2,033, nickel was little changed at $15,210 while tin rose 0.5% to $33,930. For the top stories in metals, click ($1 = 7.1684 Chinese yuan)
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Chicago soybeans set for second weekly loss on favourable weather, supplies
BEIJING - Chicago soybean futures were poised for a second consecutive weekly loss on Friday, pressured by favourable weather in the U.S. Midwest and abundant global supplies. The most-active soybean contract rose 0.02% to $10.17 per bushel as of 0226 GMT, but remained near an 11-week low. Warm weather and rains have created ideal growing conditions for soybeans and corn in the U.S. Midwest. Weather forecaster Vaisala projects widespread rainfall this week, which will likely improve soil moisture further. In Argentina, soybean sales doubled in the first 18 days of June to 4.71 million tons from a year earlier as farmers raced to close deals before a planned hike in export taxes on July 1, official data analysed by Reuters and industry sources showed. Additionally, selling pressure ahead of the first notice date for July soybean, wheat and corn contracts weighed on the market. Wheat and corn were on track for weekly losses amid strong crop production outlooks and ideal growing conditions. Wheat rose 0.47% to $5.39 a bushel, while corn gained 0.5% to $4.06 a bushel, but hovered near an eight-month low. On Thursday, the International Grains Council (IGC) raised its 2025-26 world wheat crop outlook by 2 million tons to 808 million on Thursday. Meanwhile, last week's dry weather in most of Argentina boosted 2025-26 wheat planting, especially in key farm areas that had been struggling with excess moisture after heavy rains in May, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said. Traders are awaiting the USDA's crop progress and quarterly stock reports on June 30. Commodity funds were net sellers of Chicago Board of Trade wheat and soymeal futures contracts on Thursday, traders said. Traders were net buyers of soyoil contracts and were net even on corn and soybean futures.
