How Shein’s US IPO Plans Got Derailed by China Rift

US investors are about to lose out on Shein’s huge initial public offering, after the fast-fashion giant with Chinese roots filed confidentially for a listing in London instead, according to people familiar with the matter. An IPO could value the company at about £50 billion ($63.3 billion). Dealmakers in New York once reaped huge fees from Chinese companies going public; now they wonder whether the regulatory clouds that set in after Didi Global Inc.’s 2021 US IPO turned into a debacle will ever lift.

Shein’s roots in China played a big role in its initial success, but in some ways they’ve come back to bite it. Founded in 2008, the e-commerce pioneer gained attention in 2021 as it became the most downloaded shopping app in the US, overtaking Amazon. The company managed to more than triple its sales during the Covid-19 pandemic, to a staggering $10 billion in 2020, making it the biggest web-only fashion brand in the world.