Shein to file confidentially for Hong Kong IPO amid global expansion plans
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.
One of the sources said Shein aims to submit the filing confidentially as soon as this week. A second source said Shein expects to make the filing 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, allowing 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 recognized overseas exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.
The listing rules show that the exchange could also waive or modify the publication requirements in a spinoff from an overseas-listed parent upon application by a new applicant.
While this practice is common for U.S. IPO applicants, 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 authorized 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.
Before that final step, Shein must secure approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to proceed 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 toward a listing in Hong Kong after its proposed London IPO failed to secure the green light from Chinese regulators.
Reuters previously reported that the New York attempt also did not receive CSRC approval.
Regulatory approval
Shein's confidential filing enables regulators in Hong Kong and mainland China to review the IPO application, submit questions to the company, and conduct the approval process privately, the sources said.
The regulators would be able to complete this process before the public — including potential institutional investors — can scrutinize the application materials and 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 e-commerce 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, reestablish its credibility as a global fundraising center 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.
In line with Beijing's rules for Chinese firms pursuing offshore listings, Shein must file with the CSRC within three working days of submitting its IPO application in Hong Kong.
Shein relocated its headquarters from China to Singapore in 2022 and does not directly own or operate any factories. However, it remains subject to Chinese IPO regulations because most of its products are manufactured by a network of 7,000 third-party suppliers based in China, according to sources.
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 labor of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang, a highly contentious issue for Beijing, which denies any abuses in the cotton-producing province.
The U.S. bans imports of products made with forced labor from Xinjiang, and Shein has stated that it prohibits its suppliers from using Chinese cotton in products bound for the U.S.
Shein has said its supplier code of conduct prohibiting forced labor applies worldwide.
© Thomson Reuters 2025 All rights reserved.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
NBA Raptors drop Ujiri as president after 13 seasons
The 54-year-old English-born executive has British, Nigerian, Kenyan and Canadian citizenship. He was named the NBA's Executive of the Year in 2013 while with Denver, the only non-US winner of the award. "During his 13 seasons with the Raptors, Masai has helped transform the organization on the court and has been an inspirational leader off it," MLSE President and chief executive officer Keith Pelley said. "He brought an NBA championship to Toronto and urged us to believe in this city and ourselves. We are grateful for all he has done and wish him and his family the very best." The Raptors, however, went 30-52 this past season, missing the NBA playoffs for the third year in a row and fourth time in five seasons. They haven't won a playoff series since getting past Brooklyn in the 2020 opening round. "As we plan for the franchise's future, and its return to the NBA playoffs, a search for the successor as president of the Raptors, led by CAA Executive Search, will begin immediately." The move came a day after the NBA Draft and just ahead of next week's start of NBA free agency. The Raptors announced they would keep key front office personnel, including general manager Bobby Webster, who received a contract extension, the terms of which were not revealed. "We are confident that the Raptors organization, under the guidance of Bobby and his team, is in a great place," Pelley said. "They have a plan in place for next season and beyond as the team continues its rebuild, and we have confidence in their ability to execute and ultimately, to excel. "We feel the team is in a strong, stable place, and we believe the addition of a new president will continue to move the Raptors forward, towards our next NBA championship." Ujiri played his entire on-court career in Europe, including a stint with England's Derby Rams, before joining the Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets as a scout. He was hired by the Raptors as global scouting director and in 2008 became Toronto's assistant general manager. He returned to Denver in 2010 as executive vice president and general manager, the first African general manager in major American sports. The Nuggets won a club-record 57 games in 2012-13, with Ujiri being named the league's top executive, and Ujiri signed with the Raptors as executive vice president and general manager in May 2013.
Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
German official urges Apple and Google to ban AI company DeepSeek
A German data protection official has accused the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek of illegally transferring user data to China. Meike Kamp, Berlin's commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, reported DeepSeek to Apple and Google and asked the American companies to remove DeepSeek from their app stores. In a statement released on Friday, Kamp said DeepSeek did not provide 'convincing evidence' that users' data was protected, as is required by European Union law. 'DeepSeek's transfer of user data to China is unlawful,' Kamp said, adding that 'Chinese authorities have far-reaching access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies'. 'Furthermore, DeepSeek users in China do not have the enforceable rights and effective legal remedies guaranteed in the European Union,' Kamp said. She said that Apple and Google must now review the report and decide whether to remove the app. Kamp said that her office had asked DeepSeek to either comply with EU laws for transferring data outside the bloc or pull its app from Germany, but that DeepSeek has not taken either option. Under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), companies are banned from sending data outside the region unless specific safeguards are in place in the countries where the data is sent. DeepSeek made waves in January when it launched its AI model, claiming it was created at a fraction of the cost of competitors. But studies have shown there are concerns over cybersecurity and safety, including DeepSeek-R1's susceptibility to generating harmful and biased content. As it is a China-based company, the country's law states that any data shared on mobile and web apps can be accessed by Chinese intelligence agencies, which is also generating national security fears. Italy banned DeepSeek from its app stores in January, citing data protection concerns. The country's data protection authority ordered a block on Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence and Beijing DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence – the Chinese companies behind the DeepSeek chatbot – to force them to stop processing Italians' data. The move comes after DeepSeek reportedly told the Italian authorities that it would not cooperate with a request for information.
Fashion Network
5 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Shein to file confidentially for Hong Kong IPO amid global expansion plans
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. One of the sources said Shein aims to submit the filing confidentially as soon as this week. A second source said Shein expects to make the filing 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, allowing 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 recognized overseas exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. The listing rules show that the exchange could also waive or modify the publication requirements in a spinoff from an overseas-listed parent upon application by a new applicant. While this practice is common for U.S. IPO applicants, 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 authorized 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. Before that final step, Shein must secure approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to proceed 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 toward a listing in Hong Kong after its proposed London IPO failed to secure the green light from Chinese regulators. Reuters previously reported that the New York attempt also did not receive CSRC approval. Regulatory approval Shein's confidential filing enables regulators in Hong Kong and mainland China to review the IPO application, submit questions to the company, and conduct the approval process privately, the sources said. The regulators would be able to complete this process before the public — including potential institutional investors — can scrutinize the application materials and 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 e-commerce 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, reestablish its credibility as a global fundraising center 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. In line with Beijing's rules for Chinese firms pursuing offshore listings, Shein must file with the CSRC within three working days of submitting its IPO application in Hong Kong. Shein relocated its headquarters from China to Singapore in 2022 and does not directly own or operate any factories. However, it remains subject to Chinese IPO regulations because most of its products are manufactured by a network of 7,000 third-party suppliers based in China, according to sources. 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 labor of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang, a highly contentious issue for Beijing, which denies any abuses in the cotton-producing province. The U.S. bans imports of products made with forced labor from Xinjiang, and Shein has stated that it prohibits its suppliers from using Chinese cotton in products bound for the U.S. Shein has said its supplier code of conduct prohibiting forced labor applies worldwide. © Thomson Reuters 2025 All rights reserved.
