Latest news with #JulieZhu
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Shein working towards Hong Kong listing after London IPO stalls, say sources
By Julie Zhu, Hadeel Al Sayegh and Helen Reid HONG KONG/DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) -Shein is working towards a listing in Hong Kong after the online fast-fashion retailer's proposed initial public offering (IPO) in London failed to secure the green light from Chinese regulators, said three sources with knowledge of the matter. The China-founded company aims to file a draft prospectus with Hong Kong's stock exchange in the coming weeks, one of the sources said. Shein plans to go public in the Asian financial hub within the year, two of the sources said. Shein plans to change the listing venue as it had not yet received approval for its London IPO from Chinese regulators, notably the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the two sources said. The company, which sells products including $5 bike shorts and $18 sundresses, in March secured approval from Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for its IPO in London, and soon informed the CSRC, one of the sources said. The company initially expected the green light from Chinese regulators to follow swiftly after the FCA but has since experienced an unexpected delay and limited communication from the CSRC, said the source. Details about Shein's Hong Kong listing plan have not been reported previously. All the sources spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Shein and CSRC did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. A spokesperson for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) declined to comment on individual companies. Before its attempt to list in London, Shein had pursued a listing in New York, as part of its efforts to gain legitimacy as a global, rather than a Chinese company, and access to a wide pool of large Western investors. A listing in Hong Kong would go against that strategy and could hurt its global credentials. Allegations that Shein's products contain cotton from China's Xinjiang region and a planned legal challenge to the London IPO by a non-governmental organisation campaigning against forced labour in China have complicated the London listing and risk embarrassment for the Chinese government, a separate source with direct knowledge of the matter said. Tensions with the U.S. over trade only exacerbate the wariness of Beijing and the CSRC, the source said. The United States and NGOs accuse China of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where they say Uyghur people are forced to work producing cotton and other goods. Beijing has denied any abuses. Shein, founded by China-born entrepreneur Sky Xu, says it has a zero tolerance policy over forced labour and child labour in its supply chain. The company moved its headquarters from Nanjing, China, to Singapore in 2022. As it awaited a response from the CSRC, Shein earlier this month dropped the communications firms Brunswick and FGS it had hired to help with public relations ahead of the London listing. IPO VALUATION Reuters could not determine if Shein had sought or received a nod from the CSRC for the Hong Kong listing. The company had sought Chinese regulatory approval for going ahead with processes to list in New York and later in London. Shein's filings with the CSRC make it subject to Beijing's listing rules for Chinese firms going public offshore, two sources have said. The rules are applied on "a substance over form" basis, giving the CSRC discretion on when and how to implement them, the sources added. Shein does not own or operate any factories, and instead sources its products from 7,000 third-party suppliers in China as well as some factories in other countries like Brazil and Turkey. Shein's aim was to go public in London in the first half of this year. But its business model of sending products straight from factories to shoppers around the world has been disrupted by the Trump administration ending duty-free access and slapping steep tariffs on e-commerce packages from China. The "de minimis" exemption allowed e-commerce packages from China worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free and helped Shein, Temu, and Amazon Haul sell clothes, gadgets and accessories extremely cheaply. Now, those parcels are subject to a minimum tariff of 30%. Regardless of where Shein lists, its eventual IPO valuation will hinge on the impact of the removal of the de minimis exemption, the sources have said. The U.S. exemption is still in place for goods that are not from China or Hong Kong. The European Union has also proposed changes to its duty exemption on parcels under 150 euros, adding to pressure on the business model. Reuters reported in February that Shein was set to cut its valuation in a potential London listing to around $50 billion, nearly a quarter less than the $66 billion valuation it had achieved in a $2 billion private fundraising in 2023. A revival in Hong Kong's capital market, with sizable recent listings including Chinese electric vehicle battery giant CATL's $5.3 billion float, the world's largest listing this year, augurs well for a potential Shein IPO in the city. Companies have raised $9.7 billion in Hong Kong through IPOs and second listings so far in 2025, compared to $1.05 billion at the same time last year, according to LSEG data.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Shein working towards Hong Kong listing after London IPO stalls, say sources
By Julie Zhu, Hadeel Al Sayegh and Helen Reid HONG KONG/DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) -Shein is working towards a listing in Hong Kong after the online fast-fashion retailer's proposed initial public offering (IPO) in London failed to secure the green light from Chinese regulators, said three sources with knowledge of the matter. The China-founded company aims to file a draft prospectus with Hong Kong's stock exchange in the coming weeks, one of the sources said. Shein plans to go public in the Asian financial hub within the year, two of the sources said. Shein plans to change the listing venue as it had not yet received approval for its London IPO from Chinese regulators, notably the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the two sources said. The company, which sells products including $5 bike shorts and $18 sundresses, in March secured approval from Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for its IPO in London, and soon informed the CSRC, one of the sources said. The company initially expected the green light from Chinese regulators to follow swiftly after the FCA but has since experienced an unexpected delay and limited communication from the CSRC, said the source. Details about Shein's Hong Kong listing plan have not been reported previously. All the sources spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Shein and CSRC did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. A spokesperson for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) declined to comment on individual companies. Before its attempt to list in London, Shein had pursued a listing in New York, as part of its efforts to gain legitimacy as a global, rather than a Chinese company, and access to a wide pool of large Western investors. A listing in Hong Kong would go against that strategy and could hurt its global credentials. Allegations that Shein's products contain cotton from China's Xinjiang region and a planned legal challenge to the London IPO by a non-governmental organisation campaigning against forced labour in China have complicated the London listing and risk embarrassment for the Chinese government, a separate source with direct knowledge of the matter said. Tensions with the U.S. over trade only exacerbate the wariness of Beijing and the CSRC, the source said. The United States and NGOs accuse China of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where they say Uyghur people are forced to work producing cotton and other goods. Beijing has denied any abuses. Shein says it has a zero tolerance policy for forced labour and child labour in its supply chain. As it awaited a response from the CSRC, Shein dropped the communications firms Brunswick and FGS it had hired to help with public relations ahead of the London listing, Reuters reported earlier this month. IPO VALUATION Reuters could not determine if Shein had sought or received a nod from the CSRC for the Hong Kong listing. The company had sought Chinese regulatory approval for going ahead with processes to list in New York and later in London. Shein's filings with the CSRC makes it subject to Beijing's listing rules for Chinese firms going public offshore, two sources have said. The rules are applied on "a substance over form" basis, giving the CSRC discretion on when and how to implement them, the sources added. Shein does not own or operate any factories, and instead sources its products from 7,000 third-party suppliers in China as well as some factories in other countries like Brazil and Turkey. Shein's aim was to go public in London in the first half of this year. But its business model of sending products straight from factories to shoppers around the world has been disrupted by the Trump administration ending duty-free access and slapping steep tariffs on e-commerce packages from China. The "de minimis" exemption allowed e-commerce packages from China worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free and helped Shein, Temu, and Amazon Haul sell clothes, gadgets and accessories extremely cheaply. Now, those parcels are subject to a minimum tariff of 30%. Regardless of where Shein lists, its eventual IPO valuation will hinge on the impact of the removal of the de minimis exemption, the sources have said. The U.S. exemption is still in place for goods that are not from China or Hong Kong. The European Union has also proposed changes to its duty exemption on parcels under 150 euros, adding to pressure on the business model. Reuters reported in February that Shein was set to cut its valuation in a potential London listing to around $50 billion, nearly a quarter less than the $66 billion valuation it achieved in a $2 billion private fundraising in 2023. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Shein working towards Hong Kong listing after London IPO stalls, say sources
By Julie Zhu, Hadeel Al Sayegh and Helen Reid HONG KONG/DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) -Shein is working towards a listing in Hong Kong after the online fast-fashion retailer's proposed initial public offering (IPO) in London failed to secure the green light from Chinese regulators, said three sources with knowledge of the matter. The China-founded company aims to file a draft prospectus with Hong Kong's stock exchange in the coming weeks, one of the sources said. Shein plans to go public in the Asian financial hub within the year, two of the sources said. Shein plans to change the listing venue as it had not yet received approval for its London IPO from Chinese regulators, notably the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the two sources said. The company, which sells products including $5 bike shorts and $18 sundresses, in March secured approval from Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for its IPO in London, and soon informed the CSRC, one of the sources said. The company initially expected the green light from Chinese regulators to follow swiftly after the FCA but has since experienced an unexpected delay and limited communication from the CSRC, said the source. Details about Shein's Hong Kong listing plan have not been reported previously. All the sources spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Shein and CSRC did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. A spokesperson for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) declined to comment on individual companies. Before its attempt to list in London, Shein had pursued a listing in New York, as part of its efforts to gain legitimacy as a global, rather than a Chinese company, and access to a wide pool of large Western investors. A listing in Hong Kong would go against that strategy and could hurt its global credentials. Allegations that Shein's products contain cotton from China's Xinjiang region and a planned legal challenge to the London IPO by a non-governmental organisation campaigning against forced labour in China have complicated the London listing and risk embarrassment for the Chinese government, a separate source with direct knowledge of the matter said. Tensions with the U.S. over trade only exacerbate the wariness of Beijing and the CSRC, the source said. The United States and NGOs accuse China of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where they say Uyghur people are forced to work producing cotton and other goods. Beijing has denied any abuses. Shein says it has a zero tolerance policy for forced labour and child labour in its supply chain. As it awaited a response from the CSRC, Shein dropped the communications firms Brunswick and FGS it had hired to help with public relations ahead of the London listing, Reuters reported earlier this month. IPO VALUATION Reuters could not determine if Shein had sought or received a nod from the CSRC for the Hong Kong listing. The company had sought Chinese regulatory approval for going ahead with processes to list in New York and later in London. Shein's filings with the CSRC makes it subject to Beijing's listing rules for Chinese firms going public offshore, two sources have said. The rules are applied on "a substance over form" basis, giving the CSRC discretion on when and how to implement them, the sources added. Shein does not own or operate any factories, and instead sources its products from 7,000 third-party suppliers in China as well as some factories in other countries like Brazil and Turkey. Shein's aim was to go public in London in the first half of this year. But its business model of sending products straight from factories to shoppers around the world has been disrupted by the Trump administration ending duty-free access and slapping steep tariffs on e-commerce packages from China. The "de minimis" exemption allowed e-commerce packages from China worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free and helped Shein, Temu, and Amazon Haul sell clothes, gadgets and accessories extremely cheaply. Now, those parcels are subject to a minimum tariff of 30%. Regardless of where Shein lists, its eventual IPO valuation will hinge on the impact of the removal of the de minimis exemption, the sources have said. The U.S. exemption is still in place for goods that are not from China or Hong Kong. The European Union has also proposed changes to its duty exemption on parcels under 150 euros, adding to pressure on the business model. Reuters reported in February that Shein was set to cut its valuation in a potential London listing to around $50 billion, nearly a quarter less than the $66 billion valuation it achieved in a $2 billion private fundraising in 2023. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shares of China's CATL open 12.5% higher in Hong Kong trading debut
By Scott Murdoch and Julie Zhu HONG KONG (Reuters) -Shares of China battery giant CATL opened 12.5% higher than the subscription price on Tuesday after the company raised $4.6 billion in its Hong Kong listing, the largest of its kind in the world this year. CATL shares started trading at HK$296 each in Hong Kong after the firm sold its shares at HK$263 apiece in the listing. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.3% in early trading. CATL, which is also listed in Shenzhen, sold 135.6 million shares in Hong Kong to raise $4.6 billion, which was the largest listing in the city since Midea Group raised the same amount last year. CATL's Shenzhen stock was down about 0.5% on Tuesday. The institutional tranche of the Hong Kong deal was oversubscribed 15.2 times, according to CATL's filings, while the retail portion was 151 times oversubscribed. "The Hong Kong stock listing means our wider integration into the global capital market and a new starting point for us to promote the global zero-carbon economy," CATL Founder and Chairman Robin Zeng said at a listing ceremony in Hong Kong. CATL had aimed to raise about $4 billion in the listing but increased the size of the deal following the strong demand from investors. A further 17.7 million can be sold as part of a so-called "green shoe option" that would take the size of CATL's raising to $5.3 billion. At that size, it would be the largest listing in Hong Kong since Kuaishou Technology raised $6.2 billion in 2021, according to LSEG data. CATL's bookbuild had been open for a day when the U.S. and China announced a brief truce in the trade war that had roiled global financial markets since early April. The U.S. will cut extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports last month from 145% to 30% for the next three months, the two sides said last week, while Chinese duties on U.S. imports will fall to 10% from 125%. The move created some extra momentum for CATL, whose bookbuild had been already covered with pre-commitment orders when the deal launched last Monday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the bookbuilding process. The tariffs pause prompted some global long-only investors who had previously not bid for CATL stock in the Hong Kong listing to place orders, they added. CATL did not respond to a request for comment. CATL's net profit in the first three months of 2025 rose 32.9% year-on-year to 14 billion yuan ($1.91 billion), its fastest pace in nearly two years. It has been extending its lead in the electric vehicle battery market with a 38% share globally in 2024. That increased from 36% a year ago, according to data from SNE Research.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Nvidia seeks Shanghai R&D site after US chip curbs
By Julie Zhu and Clare Jim HONG KONG: Nvidia is seeking a site in Shanghai for a research and development centre, three sources close to the matter said, reflecting the strategic significance of the Chinese market where U.S. curbs on advanced chip exports have hit sales. The U.S. chipmaker began the search in early 2025 and is primarily evaluating locations in Shanghai's Minhang and Xuhui districts, one of the sources said. The project gained momentum after a surprise visit to China by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang last month, said two of the sources. Huang, who has consistently said China is critical to Nvidia's growth, made his visit immediately after the U.S. placed new restrictions on China-bound shipments of its H20 chips, the only AI chip the company can sell legally in China. Huang met senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier He Lifeng and Shanghai's mayor Gong Zheng. Reuters reported earlier this month that Nvidia plans to release a downgraded version of the H20 chip for China in the next two months, as it seeks to prop up sales in the country, where it has been lost market share to domestic rivals such as Huawei. "We are not sending any GPU (graphics processor unit) designs to China to be modified to comply with export controls," an Nvidia spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The company is leasing a new space for existing employees in China, but no core intellectual property or GPU designs are being sent to that facility or any others in the country, the spokesperson added. When asked by reporters in Taipei on Friday if the report about its plan to set up a research center in Shanghai was true, Huang said: "We already have a research center in Shanghai. We have 2,000 people in Pudong. Nvidia has been in China for 30 years." Nvidia currently has offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen, according to its website. China generated $17 billion in revenue for Nvidia in the fiscal year ending January 26, accounting for 13% of the company's total sales. The local government of Shanghai, which hosts China's largest foreign business community, including firms such as Tesla, has expressed willingness to offer incentives for the Nvidia project, including tax reductions, said two of the sources. The local authorities are also considering offering a substantial amount of land to Nvidia for its China R&D centre, one source added. The Shanghai city government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The sources declined to be named, as the plan is not public. Following his visit to China, Huang told CNBC that the country's AI market could reach approximately $50 billion within the next two-to-three years. He said that being excluded from this rapidly expanding sector would represent a "tremendous loss" for Nvidia, especially as competition with Huawei intensifies. During an earnings call in February, before H20 chip sales to China were restricted, Nvidia executives said the company's sales to China were about half the level before U.S. export controls. Since 2022, the U.S. government has imposed restrictions on the export of Nvidia's most advanced chips to China, citing concerns over potential military applications. The Financial Times first reported on Friday about Nvidia's plan to build a R&D centre in China.
