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Online fast-fashion retailer Shein confidentially filed papers with UK authorities for a potential initial public offering.
The filing was made earlier this month, according to multiple media reports on Monday, including Reuters, which first reported the news. The timing of an IPO isn’t clear, as Shein is still waiting for approval from China’s securities regulator. An IPO could value at about £50 billion ($63.3 billion), Bloomberg reported earlier this month.
The preparations doesn’t mean that an IPO is imminent, according to a Bloomberg report, which cited people familiar. There’s no guarantee that the fast-fashion will move forward with a London IPO.
Chinese regulators aren’t expected to block the deal, one person familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
The news comes after a report over the weekend in the Mail on Sunday said that Shein may scrap an IPO in London over how the retailer is being recently portrayed in the UK. A series of criticisms levelled at Shein has annoyed some in the upper parts of the Chinese government. Beijing authorities may now put pressure on Shein to list in Hong Kong instead of London.
Representatives for Shein and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.
Shein is facing increased competition from PDD Holdings’ (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:PDD) Temu.