MP’s deep concerns over £50bn Shein listing

A senior MP has raised “deep concerns” to City regulators about a lack of transparency from Shein ahead of the Chinese fast fashion giant’s potential £50bn listing on the stock market. from London.

Liam Byrne, chairman of the companies select committee, has written to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the London Stock Exchange to ask how they will scrutinize the company as it plans one of the biggest flotations in Britain’s history.

Shein is awaiting approval for a £50bn London listing, but its activists have complained about allegations of abuse in its supply chain.

MPs were left furious this week after the fast fashion giant’s top British lawyer refused to say whether its cheap clothing is linked to slave labor in China’s Xinjiang region.

In a letter to Dame Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, Byrne said his committee was “deeply concerned by the lack of honest and open answers to some basic and extremely simple questions about the integrity of Shein’s supply chain.” “.

He asked Hoggett to answer “what controls, if any, the London Stock Exchange has in place to authenticate the claims of companies seeking to list, with particular attention to its safeguards against the use of forced labor in its products.”

Byrne has also called on FCA boss Nikhil Rathi to set out the checks the watchdog carries out to “ensure all legal risks are revealed”. There have been concerns that Shein is not being fully transparent with regulators about its supply chain. Foreign Minister Rachel Reeves is in China for talks on economic and financial cooperation, which could help Shein obtain regulatory approvals.

Also on the trip are Rathi and David Schwimmer, head of the London Stock Exchange Group, which owns the LSE.

At this week’s hearing with MPs, Shein’s lawyer, Yinan Zhu, was accused of being “disrespectful” and “ridiculous” after she refused to comment on whether the company believes there is slavery in the region.

Chinese authorities deny claims that they have set up labor camps for Uyghurs (Xinjiang’s largest ethnic minority group) and other Muslim minority groups. Activists have said they are concerned that Shein suppliers use materials made in those fields. Shein insists he has a “zero tolerance” approach to forced labor.