Shein files Hong Kong IPO as London debut stalls

China-founded fast-fashion retailer Shein has filed for an IPO in Hong Kong to accelerate the listing process and pressure Britain’s regulators to approve its planned London debut, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The company privately filed a draft prospectus last week with Hong Kong’s exchange and sought regulatory approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Shein did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The company filed for a Hong Kong listing partly to pressure the UK regulator into easing its risk disclosure rules and to keep alive what could be London’s biggest IPO in years, the FT report added.

Reuters first reported in June that Shein was planning to file a draft prospectus confidentially for its Hong Kong listing, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter.

Reuters also reported in May, citing sources, that Shein was working toward a listing in Hong Kong after its proposed London IPO failed to secure approval from Chinese regulators.

If the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is willing to accept a CSRC-approved prospectus, London would still be Shein’s preferred exchange, the FT report said, adding that chances remained slim, given that the regulators’ requirements were still far apart.