Online fashion retailer Shein is preparing to start early, informal meetings with investors to gauge interest ahead of a potential initial public offering in London, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The preparations come as the Singapore-headquartered company awaits regulatory approvals in China and the UK to proceed with its listing, the person added, declining to be identified as the information is private.
Reuters reported the investor meetings earlier Thursday. A spokesperson for Shein declined to comment.
Shein confidentially filed papers with British authorities for a London listing, people familiar with the matter have said, after an earlier plan to float in New York was met with opposition from US lawmakers.
A listing would boost London’s stock market, which has been battling a dearth of IPOs and a string of defections from locally listed companies to the US. But the potential move has sparked criticism from advocacy groups and UK politicians.
Liam Byrne, the Labour chair of the Business and Trade Committee in the House of Commons, called for greater scrutiny of Shein’s supply chain last month amid allegations of forced labour.
See also: Shein confidentially filed papers for a potential London IPO
A spokesperson for the company said at the time that Shein has a zero-tolerance policy for forced labour.
