Shein’s London listing is a ‘very bad idea’

Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has strongly opposed the idea of ​​listing Shein, the Chinese-founded fast-fashion retailer, on the London Stock Exchange.

Farage criticized attempts by ministers, including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, to lure the company to London, arguing it would not help revive the market.

Farage stressed that Shein’s potential £50 billion listing would not improve London’s financial status. The retailer has faced allegations of forced labor in its supply chain, which it denies. “Encouraging Shein to choose London would be a mistake,” Farage said, adding that this will not change “the IPO crisis” in the city.

He continued: ‘They see an IPO for Shein and say, ‘Oh, isn’t that great, because London needs it.’ No that’s not true. Not at all. Saying no to Shein does not mean cutting off our nose to despise our face. It says we think this is a very bad idea.”

Farage, the parliamentary candidate for Clacton, attributed the London Stock Exchange’s struggles to “excessive regulation” and called for a “radical rethink of the rules governing the financial markets.” He argued that “we have not been deregulated at all from EU rules.”

Shein is preparing to list in London after previous plans to float in New York were thwarted by political opposition. Although founded in China, Shein is now headquartered in Singapore and is working on the paperwork for a potential blockbuster listing, although this does not guarantee it will choose the UK market.

Both the Conservative and Labor parties have expressed support for Shein’s London listing. Labor MPs recently met with the retailer and confirmed that “increasing investment, productivity and growth is one of Labour’s missions for government.” Jeremy Hunt also held talks with Shein’s executive chairman Donald Tang in January, in an attempt to convince the retailer to choose London.

Shein has quickly become one of the world’s largest fashion retailers, known for its ability to quickly launch new products. However, concerns have been raised about how the company can afford to charge such low prices, with some items selling for as little as £4. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio stated in April that there was “a strong possibility that these companies facilitated the importation of goods made with forced labor.”

These concerns focus on Shein’s Chinese supplier base, especially since much of China’s cotton comes from Xinjiang, where there are allegations of forced labor involving Uyghurs. Last week, Peter Hugh Smith, CEO of CCLA Investment Management, warned that allowing Shein to go public in London would risk the city becoming a “listing venue of last resort” for companies with questionable reputations in the field of human rights.

Smith added that government support for a Shein float “sends the signal that Britain is willing to overlook important human rights issues.”

A spokesperson for Shein responded: “Shein has a zero-tolerance policy toward forced labor and we are committed to respecting human rights. We take visibility across our supply chain seriously and require our contract manufacturers to only source cotton from approved regions.”