The online fashion retailer Shein is understood to be considering moving its base back to China from Singapore to pave the way for a Hong Kong listing.
The business, which was founded in China and moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2022, had been considering a £50bn float in London after failing to win approval from regulators in the US for a New York flotation.
However, Chinese authorities have not given the nod to a UK listing and the fast-fashion group has faced questions about conditions in its supply chain from campaigners, influential British MPs and investors.
The company is subject to oversight by Chinese regulators despite being officially based in Singapore because the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) requires all companies with substantial links to the country to clear a review before listing shares anywhere in the world. Shein still makes most of its clothing in China.
It has consulted lawyers about setting up a parent company in mainland China, according to a Bloomberg report, indicating that the company is now most likely to list in Hong Kong.
Melanie Tng, a private capital analyst for the venture capital research firm PitchBook, said: “For companies like Shein that are operating at the intersection of consumer, cross-border and digital commerce, Hong Kong is arguably the only viable major offshore listing venue left.
“Mainland exchanges remain largely inaccessible to these sectors, while US and UK IPOs have grown increasingly difficult due to CSRC approval hurdles and geopolitical friction.”
The latest effort to secure a listing comes as prospects for growth at the company have been dampened by new restrictions on the import of low-value goods to the US. The restrictions are poised to be tightened again next week after Shein and Temu, another online marketplace founded in China, were seen to have benefited from them at the cost of local retailers.
In May the US revoked its de minimis exception for Chinese-made goods, under which parcels with a value of less than $800 (£600) shipped to individuals were exempt from import tax. The US recently announced plans to scrap the tax break for items from all countries next week.
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The EU said in February it would phase out its exemption on customs duties for low-value parcels and the UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has also said she was reviewing the country’s version of the rule.
However, recent figures for the British market indicate rapid growth last year. Shein’s UK arm increased sales by about a third to more than £2bn, overtaking its British rival Boohoo and closing in on Asos, according to accounts filed at Companies House last week. Shein said profits rose 56% to £38.2m last year, on which it paid £9.6m corporation tax.
Shein declined to comment.