Shein chairman says firm ‘wants to be listed company’

The executive chairman of Shein has reportedly confirmed that the fashion firm wants to be listed on the stock market.

Donald Tang told The Times newspaper that the company wants to be “in the fish tank for everybody to examine in the public square”.

The retailer has been in talks over an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange over the past year.

Mr Tang said: “We want to be a listed company.”

London has super-high, very respectable regulatory standards. The Prime Minister has said that. Both parties have said that. And we admire that very much

He also told the newspaper that Shein wanted to “embrace the accountability and transparency of being a public company”.

However, Mr Tang did not confirm if the capital is the favoured destination.

He said: “London has super-high, very respectable regulatory standards. The Prime Minister has said that. Both parties have said that. And we admire that very much.”

Mr Tang told the Financial Times that despite the company’s IPO plans being “the elephant in the room”, there has been “zero” discussion about valuation.

Bloomberg reported last month that investors in the group are pressuring the firm to float with a valuation of around 30 billion US dollars (£23.8 billion).

Shein, founded in China and now based in Singapore, has encountered hurdles in its IPO efforts, including political pressure in the UK over alleged supply chain and labour abuses.

The company has been accused of sourcing cotton from Xinjiang, a region in China where the government has been accused of subjecting Uighur minorities to forced labour and genocide.

Mr Tang rejected the allegations, telling The Times that Shein complies “with the laws and regulations of each country”.

Current efforts to list the company also face further challenges from US President Donald Trump’s administration.

The administration is planning to scrap the de minimis rule, which means goods under 800 dollars (£635) in value are exempt from tariffs, and would introduce an additional 10% tariff on all goods from China.