Britain’s financial regulator is taking longer than usual to approve fast-fashion retailer Shein’s initial public offering because it is checking its supply chain oversight and assessing legal risks after an advocacy group for China’s Uygur population challenged the listing, according to two sources close to the matter.
Britain’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, a monitoring body of the interior ministry, has also raised concerns within government over a Shein IPO because of allegations about labour practices at its suppliers.
Singapore-headquartered Shein, which sells US$5 tops and US$10 dresses mostly made in China in 150 markets worldwide, filed confidentially with the Financial Conduct Authority in early June for a London listing.
Shein is also awaiting approval from China’s securities regulator for its London IPO, two separate sources said, adding that the approval would likely come after the FCA’s decision.
The advocacy group, Stop Uygur Genocide (SUG), announced a legal challenge in June and sent the FCA a dossier in August alleging that Shein uses cotton from China’s Xinjiang region.
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Uygur woman describes torture in China’s Xinjiang ‘vocational training’ camps
Uygur woman describes torture in China’s Xinjiang ‘vocational training’ camps
The US and NGOs have long accused China of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, where they say Uygurs are forced to work producing cotton and other goods.