Shein will announce in the next few days that the London Stock Exchange is the destination of its initial public offering, according to reports.
This Is Money of the Daily Mail reported that the directors of the Singapore fast-fashion giant are nearing a decision on whether to list in London or New York.
The Times also reports that London is the frontrunner in an IPO aiming to reach a valuation of just over £70 billion. This would place it among the top six LSE companies.
According to reports from last week, the Shein board has concluded that an application submitted to the US is unlikely to be accepted there by authorities.
Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of Exchequer, met Donald Tang, Shein Chairman last month in an attempt to convince him to support one of London’s largest corporate flotations.
The Square (NYSE-Mile) has changed listing rules twice over the last few years in order to attract tech companies flotations. This is part of a larger set of reforms designed to keep London a competitive financial centre globally after Brexit. However, this hasn’t coincided with an influx of new issues.
GlobalData reports that Shein’s UK sales were over £1.3 billion last year. This represents just 2% of UK clothing market.