It is said that Shein has submitted an IPO application in the United States. Official response: Rumor

It is learned that on June 30, Reuters reported that people familiar with the matter said that Shein has secretly submitted an IPO registration application to the New York Stock Exchange Commission (SEC) and may conduct an initial public offering before the end of this year, but a Shein spokesperson denied the rumor.

The listing could make Shein the Chinese company with the highest market value listed in the United States after Didi Chuxing. In 2021, Didi Chuxing was listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a valuation of US$68 billion, but it was delisted from New York in 2022. The reason is speculated to be related to domestic policies.

The report noted that Shein has held talks with investment banks to find someone to lead its IPO, which could take place in the second half of this year.

However, a Shein spokesperson responded via email: "The news that an IPO application has been submitted in the United States is false." But no further details were provided, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment.

However, it is speculated that Shein has plans to go public in the United States and has been considering an IPO for at least three years. However, due to the turmoil in Sino-US trade, the damage caused by the new crown epidemic and the market volatility caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, Shein can only put it on hold temporarily.

At its peak, Shein was valued at $100 billion, making it the world's second-largest unicorn company after ByteDance and SpaceX. In March of this year, Shein was valued at $64 billion in a $2 billion round of financing, a valuation that was one-third lower than the valuation in its last financing event in 2022.

The Financial Times previously reported that in documents presented to investors, Shein said its annual revenue in 2023 is expected to reach $58.5 billion, more than double last year's $22.7 billion, and will exceed the current sales of competitors H&M and Zara combined. Revenue will double by 2025, and gross merchandise value (GMV) will increase by 174% over the same period.

In recent months, Shein has been expanding its third-party business globally, now reaching Latin America and North America. It will also be launched in many European countries in the third quarter and expand its product line to include home appliances and smart home products.

However, at a time when Sino-US relations are tense, Shein's IPO journey in the United States may not be smooth.

Recently, the United States publicly released documents accusing Shein and Temu of selling goods produced with forced labor and using tariff loopholes to evade taxes. Shein's IPO was also opposed by bipartisan groups in the United States, who required Shein to prove to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its supply chain does not contain goods produced with forced labor before going public.

In order to avoid more scrutiny, Shein is also gradually diluting its Chinese genes and setting up production bases in many countries around the world. There are also reports that Shein will move its headquarters to Singapore.

At present, Shein has sufficient capital flow and is backed by many well-known investment institutions. In the $2 billion financing in March, General Atlantic, Mubadala, Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital China were all its investors.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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