2 Years After Ban In India, Chinese Fast-Fashion Company Shein Aiming For US IPO In 2024

After shelving its plans previously for an IPO in 2022, Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein is now hoping to go public with an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States as soon as 2024.

According to a report from Bloomberg, the company faces environmental, social and governance, or ESG, concerns that could be an obstacle to the IPO.

The $100 billion valuation firm has drawn scrutiny for its cheap product line that has been built on a fast and prolific production chain. A probe by Swiss watchdog group Public Eye said some of Shein¡¯s manufacturers have been subjecting employees to dangerous conditions and 75-hour workweeks, as per a report by CNBC.

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While these concerns have not dissuaded large investors such as Sequoia Capital China, IDG Capital, and Tiger Global Management, recent executive moves within Shein appear to focus on improving their ESG appearance in preparation for a public offering, according to Bloomberg.

Critics reportedly still have issues with Shein garments¡¯ short-term 'wearability', and the criticism has spread to fast-fashion more broadly.

Last year, Shein had overtaken Amazon as top shopping app on US app stores.

Also Read: From Swiggy To Flipkart: List Of Big Upcoming IPOs To Look Forward To In 2022-23

Ban In India

Also, Shein was amongst the 59 China linked apps banned by the govt of India in 2020. The ministry of information technology had confirmed the ban, stating that these "are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.¡±

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The Indian government had banned those Chinese apps, including Shein, to tackle privacy and security concerns of the Indian digital space. Around that time, the Indian intelligence agencies had issued a warning against the use of Chinese apps, stating that these apps are not secure and extract a large amount of data outside India.

The other apps that were banned in 2022 included WeChat, TikTok, Mi Video Call, Viva Video, Cam Scanner etc.

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