Shein reportedly weighs moving back to China to gain approval for Hong Kong IPO

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Shein is considering moving its headquarters back to China from Singapore in a bid to convince Beijing authorities to approve the online fast-fashion company’s Hong Kong initial public offering, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday. 

The report said that Shein had gone so far as to consult lawyers about setting up a parent company in mainland China, citing people familiar with the matter. However, it added that there was no guarantee that Shein would act upon the preliminary discussions.

Shein, which sources a significant amount of its goods from China, confidentially filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong last month, according to a Financial Times report. 

That comes after delays in Shein’s plans for an initial public offering in London that was filed over a year ago, according to Reuters, as the company struggled to secure regulatory approval.  

Shein did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC. 

A London listing had been seen as a potential boon for the Chinese-founded company, providing it more legitimacy for its international business and access to a deep and mature pool of Western investors.

However, the company has faced headwinds in Western markets this year, with the U.S. President Donald Trump removing a valuable tariff exemption that had helped it maintain low prices on small shipments from China. Lawmakers in some other Western markets are considering similar moves. 

Read the full Bloomberg report here.

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